Whole foods Vs Processed Foods

Whole foods

The whole foods mean natural foods and unprocessed foods. Get awareness on these kinds of foods makes us healthier life. They have enriched with natural vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Regular consumption will make us healthy in life. In our daily life we are having in our dine with natural vegetables and fruits. They have very good sources of vitamins, minerals and vitamins. Green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits are whole foods. This type of foods helps us by correcting variety of nutritional deficiencies1.

Example: Green leafy vegetables, fresh organic fruits and whole grains and meat

Difference Between Processed and Ultra Processed Foods 

Processed Foods

Changes with alteration processed food. By adding the taste enhancement, colour Improvement, making soft by adding other items.  Why need the processed foods? Adding the preservative which used for the to protect the originality of food items. This kind of alterations make loose the originality of the food items and lost nutritional values. Higher amounts of processed food not good for health. This is for commercialized and lock of awareness on alter natural food items. This consumed led to the obesity, diabetes and other chronic disease or disorder. Fast life, busy schedule makes us fall in adopting the processed foods 2

Ultra processed foods   

Ultra Processed foods are not healthy for us. Even minimal processed foods are better for healthier life. Processed foods are highly commercialised for widely available in the market. These are easily accessible for everyone and at low cost. To protect originality and taste improvement adding additives, artificial sweeteners. To protect taste improvement and added with salt and sugars. In this process food items undergo with industrial hydrogenation, artificial colourants etc. We well known of readily available cool drinks, readily packed cookies and biscuits. Some items have more in sugar and salt added and trans fats.  This consumes will impact on heart, diabetes, cancer and other related disorder can happen.

Minimal processed foods

MPF are general safe and good for health. We cannot rely on completely unprocessed foods.  By this concept we can retain the nutritional benefits of the foods. In this method we clean the items, steaming and pasteurization process. Vegetables we clean with water and steam with lower temperature. Fruits we eat by washing. By this concept we can withhold the nutritional items like multi vitamins, minerals and other antioxidants. They cannot destroy at lower temperature and good valued for our health. This makes good satiety and having higher fibre in minimal processed foods. These foods are sometime not available as needed; in some situations, it may not be convenient for consuming. It may help to protect from diabetes, cancer and other disease. This helps longer lifespan and supports healthier lifestyle3

Some Identifications you can find on label:

1. Added Sugars
2. Trans fats
3. Fructose or lactose
4. Added additives
5. Artificial sweeteners
6. Emulsifier
7. Gelling agents
8. Preservatives

NOVA is a system established to identify the difference between Whole, processed, ultra processed and minimal processed foods.4 

Whole foods and their effect:

There is fresh leafy vegetables and fruits, and unprocessed food are whole foods. Whole foods it may be pro-vegetarian diet or omnivorous diet. These food very good source natural nutrients. By usage of whole food can be avoid potential damage of the health. And by changing or transforming form processed to whole foods lot of health benefits we can experiences.

Pro-vegetarian means 70:30 ration of the plant and animal-based food. And Omnivorous means 50:50 ration of the plant and animal-based foods. In this 4 week of study greater reduction of diabetes, hypertension and improved HDL levels in pro-vegetarian. In Omnivorous lesser developed compared with pro-vegetarian5

References:

1. Monica K Esquivel, Nutrition Benefits and Considerations for Whole Foods Plant-Based Eating Patterns, Am J Lifestyle Med. 2022 Apr 22;16(3):284–290, PMCID: PMC9189583  PMID: 35706588, doi: 10.1177/15598276221075992.
2. Tânia Gonçalves Albuquerque, Adriana Pavesi Arisseto Bragotto, Processed Food: Nutrition, Safety, and Public Health, Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022, Dec 7;19(24):16410. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416410, PMCID: PMC9778909 PMID: 36554295
3. Zefeng Zhang , Sandra L Jackson, Relationship Between Ultra-Processed and Minimally Processed Food Intake and Cardiovascular Health Among US Women of Reproductive Age, J Womens Health (Larchmt), PMID: 38386796, PMCID: PMC11289851, 2024 May;33(5):613-623, doi: 10.1089/jwh.2023.0739. Epub 2024 Feb 21.
4. Carlos A Monteiro, Geoffrey Cannon, Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them, Public Health Nutr, 2019 Apr;22(5):936-941, doi: 10.1017/S1368980018003762. Epub 2019 Feb 12, PMID: 30744710, PMCID: PMC10260459, DOI: 1017/S1368980018003762
5. Rosilene V Ribeiro, Alistair M Senior, Rapid benefits in older age from transition to whole food diet regardless of protein source or fat to carbohydrate ratio: Arandomised control trial, PMID: 39011855, PMCID: PMC11561649, Aging Cell, 2024 Nov;23(11):e14276, doi: 10.1111/acel.14276. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
6. Sadie B Barr 1, Jonathan C Wright, Postprandial energy expenditure in whole-food and processed-food meals: implications for daily energy expenditure, PMC2897733  PMID: 20613890, Food Nutr Res. 2010 Jul 2;54:10.3402/fnr.v54i0.5144. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v54i0.5144.
7. Andrew J McDermott 1, Mark B Stephens, Cost of eating: whole foods versus convenience foods in a low-income model, PMID: 20373171, Fam Med 2010 Apr;42(4):280-4.
8. Filippa Juul, Georgeta Vaidean, Ultra-processed Foods and Cardiovascular Diseases: Potential Mechanisms of Action, PMID: 33942057, PMCID: PMC8483964,Adv Nutr, 2021 Oct 1;12(5):1673-1680, doi:  1093/advances/nmab049.