processed foods

18 Stories

Your Food Packaging May Soon Come With a Warning Label

FDA hopes to add warnings signaling high levels of sodium, saturated fat, added sugars

(Newser) - "Eating patterns in the US do not align with federal dietary recommendations." That's per a recent proclamation by the Food and Drug Administration, which warns we're a nation facing "an ever-growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity." One...

Risks of Processed Foods Apply to Plant-Based Ones, Too

Study issues a cardiovascular warning

(Newser) - With studies warning of the dangers of highly altered, industrially formulated foods, some consumers might feel inclined to move toward plant-based ultra-processed foods as a better option. There are, after all, numerous health benefits to a plant-based diet. Unfortunately those benefits appear to go out the window when industrial manufacturing...

Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Early Death
Some Ultraprocessed Foods
Are Worse Than Others
NEW STUDY
May 9, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Some Ultraprocessed Foods Are Worse Than Others

Ice cream, processed meat show strong association with mortality risk

(Newser) - A diet high in ultraprocessed foods has been linked to cancer , weight gain , and now early death. A new 30-year study of 115,000 people found those who consumed the most ultraprocessed foods (UPFs)—including frozen meals, processed meat like hot dogs, potato chips, sugary breakfast cereals, and artificially sweetened...

Ultra-Processed Foods Aren't as Appealing as We Thought

When people rated foods, UPFs weren't as 'hyperpalatable' as commonly believed

(Newser) - If you'd never say no to a bowl of ice cream, you're certainly not alone. But that doesn't make whole foods like apples any less appealing, according to new study from Bristol University's Nutrition and Behaviour Group. There, researchers decided to test the assumption that people...

Gaining Weight? Ultra-Processed Foods Could Be to Blame

Study finds participants who eat such foods consume more calories, gain weight

(Newser) - Want to lose weight? Cut out the ultra-processed foods. A new study finds that such foods, which "have come to dominate the US diet" over the past seven decades, per NPR , have a big impact on weight gain. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health split 20 healthy, stable-weight...

For Those on 10% More 'Ultra-Processed' Food, Up Go Cancer Numbers

Scientists say they need to do a lot more research, though

(Newser) - Those snack cakes and chicken nuggets may be tasty, but they may also be upping your chances of cancer, according to a new study out of Sorbonne Paris Cite University. The research published in BMJ looked at the consumption of "ultra-processed" foods—the BBC has a list of edibles...

We Eat Way Too Many 'Ultra-Processed' Foods
We Eat Way Too Many
'Ultra-Processed' Foods
study says
Mar 10, 2016 10:25 AM CST

We Eat Way Too Many 'Ultra-Processed' Foods

They account for 3 in 5 of our calories, study says

(Newser) - Lots of people talk a good game about eating more natural foods, but a new study suggests that the convenience of "ultra-processed" meals is just too hard to resist. Researchers found that nearly three in five of our calories come from this category, reports the Los Angeles Times . That...

How a Woman Ate Healthier on Meager $16K Salary

Megan Kimble writes a book about her 'Unprocessed' year

(Newser) - Eating healthy is no easy task. Case in point: Megan Kimble, a food writer in Tucson, tried going without processed food twice before it stuck on the third go-around. Now, as Health reports via Time , she's written a book called Unprocessed about how she went a year "unprocessed"...

Want Health? Feed the Bacteria Living Inside You

Antibiotics, processed foods aren't helping

(Newser) - Don't look now, but roughly 100 trillion bacteria live in and on your body. According to scientists, these microbes—especially the ones in your gut—may be fending off chronic diseases, moderating your weight, and strengthening your immune system. But our society's processed foods and war on bacteria...

Want to Age Well? Don't Eat Like an American
Want to Age Well?
Don't Eat Like an American
New Study
Apr 18, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

Want to Age Well? Don't Eat Like an American

Study finds Western diet doesn't promote ideal aging

(Newser) - Doctors have long told us that the Western diet—fried foods, processed foods, red meat, white bread, dairy, and plenty of sugar—is unhealthy, and now they have numbers to back it up. Researchers studied 5,350 British adults with a mean age of 51 who were followed for an...

Horse Meat Scandal Hits Nestle
 Horse Meat Scandal Hits Nestle 
Feb 19, 2013 5:27 AM CST

Horse Meat Scandal Hits Nestle

'Beef' meals yanked in Italy, Spain

(Newser) - The horse meat scandal galloping across Europe hasn't spared the world's biggest food company. Nestle, which previously insisted that its beef products had not been affected, has withdrawn beef pasta meals sold in Italy and Spain after DNA tests revealed that they contained more than 1% horse meat,...

Potatoes Make Junk Food —but They're Not Junk
Potatoes Make Junk Food
—but They're Not Junk
Mark Bittman
Feb 22, 2012 10:17 AM CST

Potatoes Make Junk Food —but They're Not Junk

Mark Bittman: Corn, potatoes don't deserve their bad rap

(Newser) - Corn and potatoes get a bad rap, due to the fact that we mainly consume them in junk food form. But corn and potatoes themselves are, Mark Bittman reminds us in the New York Times , "real food"—unlike, say, Pringles, which are potato chips that contain just 42%...

The Bread That Changed Britain Now Getting Beat Up

Chorleywood bread 'is like cotton wool,' says critic

(Newser) - What Henry Ford did for cars, the Chorleywood Flour Milling and Bakery Research Association laboratories did for bread in 1961: Hard fats, extra yeast, a very fast trip through the mixer, and a few chemicals yielded a soft, uniform sandwich loaf with twice the shelf life of traditional bread—and...

Hot Dogs Better Than Chicken?! In One Way...
Hot Dogs Healthier Than
Chicken? In One Way...
study says
Mar 29, 2011 4:53 PM CDT

Hot Dogs Healthier Than Chicken? In One Way...

But it's probably best if you just avoid processed meats

(Newser) - Here's a good riddle for foodies: How in the world could a hot dog be a better dinner choice than rotisserie chicken? Researchers explain, in a new study printed in a journal named—what else?—Meat Science. Turns out there are carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) present in meat that...

Weight Watchers Revamps Points System

Diet giant now emphasizes unprocessed foods

(Newser) - Weight Watchers has totally overhauled its legendary points system to reflect changing perceptions about how the body processes food, the first change since its inception in 1997, the New York Times is reporting. Fruits, veggies, and whole foods are generally good, meaning points free, while processed foods should be eaten...

White Rice Linked to Diabetes Risk

Brown rice lowers risk of developing disease; more study needed

(Newser) - People who frequently eat white rice are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than those who eat less than one serving a month. But rice isn't all bad: Eating the brown variety lowers the likelihood of developing the disease, new research shows. Replacing white rice serving-for-serving with brown...

Samoa Tops List of Fattest Countries
 Samoa Tops List 
 of Fattest Countries 
the world is round
Nov 27, 2009 1:05 PM CST

Samoa Tops List of Fattest Countries

Also, Samoa is a US territory, so...yay?

(Newser) - From Pacific islands to Eastern Europe, the world is fat. The cause is the same almost everywhere, Laurie Cunningham writes for Global Post : increased access to processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. The top victims of "globesity:"
  1. American Samoa: Percentage of population that's overweight: 93.5. The tiny Pacific
...

Junk Food Linked to Depression

Fatty, refined foods jack risk by 58%

(Newser) - Feeling blue? Put down the cookies: Eating a diet rich (or, should we say, poor) in processed foods increases the risk of depression, a study finds. British scientists studied 3,500 adults over five years; those who ate mainly fried, processed, refined, high-fat foods had a 58% greater risk of...

18 Stories