For some time now, serious nutrition science has been pointing to a strong connection between high intake of processed, more precisely ultra-processed and premature mortality from heart disease, certain types of cancer, but also other diseases that lead to shortening of life.

However, this isn't one of the manifestos in favor of eating raw foods. Every intervention, including short-term cooking, is food processing. It can be minimal and moderate, and necessary for better availability of nutrients and greater health safety.

Highly and ultra-processed food means industrially formulated products that are mixtures of a large number of ingredients and/or only processed in a way to obtain instant-food - easy to consume. It just opens, mixes or heats up in a few minutes and can be eaten along the way or by watching TV.

Examples are numerous: many meat products, snacks and drink, but not only that. Instant oatmeal, frozen ready-made pizza, stews and soups from bags, ground biscuits, corn starch, ready-made sauces, and various other products processed and packaged for short-term preparation. From our point of view, it requires a little effort from our digestive organs, so it reaches the body very quickly. Such food has many additives such as flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, much more salt, sugar and bad fats. Examples from everyday life - roasted chicken is minimally processed, and chicken pate is ultra-processed. Cooked oatmeal, then added fresh vegetables and yogurt is a minimally processed dish whose similar is that packaged oatmeal, all together with fruit yogurt.

Risk of heart disease

When you read that something is creamy, be careful! Food accompanied by many poor health outcomes has long be suspected. In America, it reached over half of all calories ingested, so the consequences and consequences are most visible in them, but not only there.

One of the first large studies (published in the journal Calculation) showed a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease for people who regularly eat meat products in some quantities. A large long-term French study - results published in British Medical Journal (BMJ) - showed that every 10 percent increase in the intake of ultra-processed food results in additional 13 percent increase in heart disease. Another epidemiological study has already shown that this type of diet increases the risk of cancer by 12 percent.

Even for young people, a study done in Spain on university graduates with an average age of 38, with an increase in intake over two servings of ultra-processed food a day, the risk of premature mortality raises by an incredible 62 percent.

The list of such epidemiological studies published in eminent journals is long, but strict science has so far claimed - it isn't proof of a casual - consequential connection. And that is where we all agree.

Proven weight gain

But more than a year ago, a real controlled intervention study was done., which showed that gaining weight is a direct consequence of using ultra-processed food.

In hospital conditions, 20 young healthy people underwent controlled diet. These were basically two types of diet - one with highly processed food, and the other with minimally processed food.

The list of food is long - an example of one breakfast: plain yogurt, they used Greek with flakes, and in other fruit yogurt with the addition of fiber as insulin.

All menus were uniform in terms of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates, but participants were left to determine the amount themselves to the point of feeling full.

The groups were switched to two weeks - the one who was on ultra-processed food switched to the usual solid, minimally processed diet, and vice versa.

The result was as follows - the intake of ultra-processed food was on average 500 calories higher per day, so participants gained an average of almost one kilogram in two weeks. Conversely, the intake of normally processed food was an average that much lower, followed by weight loss of one kilogram for two weeks. So, in order to achieve a feeling of satiety, more ultra-processed food is needed, and thus weight is imperceptibly increased.

Researchers plan to continue on this project, and they have some assumptions as to why the result is exactly like this.

Fast passage through an organism

It can be said that this easily available food (ultra-processed food) is problematic, because it passes through digestive system too quickly. The body doesn't have time to understand how much is ingested, so it sends you signal "I'm hungry" and person imperceptibly ingests more calories.

In addition to discreet, insignificant deviations in the type of carbohydrates, fats and salt, the main difference between these types of diet was the consistently in food - such that doesn't require much chewing. In the type of diet with highly processed foods, there were many more liquid calories with a creamier structure.

Before the food industry makes us happy by changing the formulation of sparkling food, we can a lot ourselves and at least significantly reduce the share of highly processed ingredients in the house, as well as the method of preparation. So, start with good, quality raw materials - raw foods, and don't add highly processed ingredients.

Fruit is the best in one piece

Process food minimally - both mechanically and thermally. Leave the cauliflower soup with pieces of vegetables, and don't whisk it with a blender or something similar. The fruit is eaten in one peace - possibly cut into slices, and only extremely freshly squeezed.

Minimally processed flakes or rise/semolina and similar should be cooked in milk and served to children instead of ground biscuits in milk, and even sweetened ones. The same goes for adults. Use meat, not pate, Parisians and similar products. Season the pizza with tomato's rings, not ketchup, cheese, not sour cream, more solid ingredients that require the work of our digestive organs - from the jaw to the stomach and intestines.

Don't overdo with the addition of salt and herbal mixtures with salt. Add fat in drops or spoons, and be especially careful with new "healthy" exotic oils. They have the same calories, and are often source of very bad fats.

And very important, cook vegetables for a short time, whether it is steamed or prepared in food, and use blenders, mixers and similar devices as little as possible. This mainly destroys fiber and other nutrients.

This, among other things, defines the feeling of satiety and enables better control of quantities, and thus body weight, but also overall metabolic health. That would be the root of many of the listed chronic diseases and a way to prevent them.

Literature and images: Lily magazine, number 38, fall 2019