How to holistically heal...eating highly processed foods

A Guide for Family, Friends & Colleagues (it takes less than 10 mins to read)

1. HEALING: When you eat highly processed foods, consider this…

2. REVERENCE: Simplicity (reverence is the deep respect & attention to the things that truly impact healing)

3. EXPLORING: Dive deep with me (exploring is the journey into the deeper work, meeting the parts, wounds, and survival strategies that keep us small, stuck, and suffering with persistent symptoms & feelings)

In this edition:

• Defining Highly Processed Foods

• The Health Problems with Highly Processed Foods

• 10 Highly Processed Foods

• 10 Processed Food Ingredients to Avoid

• 10 Food Additives to Avoid

• The Implications of Overwhelm on Dietary Choices

• Strategies for Navigating Dietary Decisions Amidst Overwhelm

• Dive Deep with Me: The How To Transition from Highly Processed Food To Wholefoods Program

• Free Live Webinar: Cleansing With Broths & Soups

1. HEALING: When you eat highly processed foods, consider this…

In today's fast-paced world, the consumption of highly processed foods has become a norm, contributing significantly to various health issues that plague modern society. As a naturopath with over 29 years of experience and author of "I am Food - Eating Your Way to Health," I've observed firsthand the detrimental effects of such dietary choices. This newsletter serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding, identifying, and transitioning away from highly processed foods, toward a path of holistic healing.

Defining Highly Processed Foods

The terms "processed foods" and "highly processed" or "ultra-processed foods" refer to different categories within the spectrum of food processing. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for making informed dietary choices. Here's a breakdown of the differences:

• Processed foods are those that have undergone any changes to their natural state to ensure their safety, extend shelf life, or improve taste or convenience. The processing can be as simple as freezing, canning, baking, or drying. This category is broad and can include both relatively healthy options and less healthy ones, depending on the type and extent of processing involved. Examples include:

  • Canned vegetables with added salt

  • Fruit preserved in syrup

  • Milk pasteurised to eliminate bacteria

• Highly Processed or Ultra-Processed Foods take processing a step further by not only preserving the food but also transforming it through the addition of numerous ingredients, including sugar, oil, fats, salt, preservatives, artificial flavours, and colours. These foods are often ready-to-eat or require minimal preparation. The NOVA classification system, a recognised tool in food research, categorises these foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing. Ultra-processed foods are typically characterised by low nutritional value, high caloric density, and the inclusion of additives designed to enhance flavour, texture, or shelf life. Examples include:

  • Soft drinks and sugary beverages

  • Packaged snacks like chips and cookies

  • Frozen meals and fast food

  • Processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon

  • Instant noodles and soups

Key Differences

• Nutritional Value: Processed foods can retain much of their nutritional value, especially if they're minimally processed, like frozen vegetables or canned beans. Ultra-processed foods often lack essential nutrients and are high in unhealthy fats, added sugars, and sodium.

• Purpose of Processing: While processed foods are primarily preserved for safety and convenience, ultra-processed foods are engineered for taste, addictiveness, and extended shelf life, with less emphasis on nutritional integrity.

The Health Problems with Highly Processed Foods

A comprehensive review published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) in 2024 has critically evaluated the connections between consuming ultra-processed foods—categorised by the Nova food classification system—and various negative health outcomes. The study scrutinised numerous meta-analyses of epidemiological data, uncovering that a significant majority of health metrics related to mortality, cancer, and a wide array of diseases across mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health were adversely affected by the intake of ultra-processed foods.

The findings highlighted that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods is convincingly linked to elevated risks of cardiovascular disease mortality and type 2 diabetes, along with a higher prevalence of anxiety and common mental disorders. Evidence of a strong correlation was also observed with all-cause mortality, heart disease mortality, further incidents of type 2 diabetes, depression, adverse sleep conditions, wheezing, and obesity. Despite some analyses showing weaker evidence, the overarching conclusion drawn from the review points to a substantial risk associated with ultra-processed food consumption, particularly concerning cardiometabolic diseases, mental health issues, and increased mortality rates.

This review underscores the urgent need for public health strategies aimed at reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods to safeguard against a range of serious health problems. It also emphasises the importance of further research to understand the mechanisms behind these associations better.

The following lists provide a quick reference of the top 10 highly processed foods, the 10 processed food ingredients to avoid, and the 10 food additives to avoid.