The problem with "ultra-processed"
This is going to sound obvious but nobody talks about it: “ultra-processed” tells you surprisingly little about whether a food is good for you.
A Harvard analysis of more than 200,000 adults, across three long-running US studies, tested this properly. For the first time, researchers separated diet quality from processing level in the same framework.
Quality was what tracked with heart disease and type 2 diabetes risk. Processing tier on its own barely moved the needle.
The system behind “ultra-processed” is called NOVA. It sorts food by how it’s made, not what’s in it. That’s how wholemeal bread and tinned beans end up in the same tier as a packet of biscuits, while a home-cooked meal swimming in butter and salt counts as minimally processed.
I saw this up close running innovation at Weetabix. Two wheat biscuits, 300ml of semi-skimmed milk and an apple. By NOVA, that’s ultra-processed.
It’s also under 400 calories, 16 grams of protein and 6 grams of fibre, wholegrains and slow-release energy, ready in the time it takes to find a bowl.
None of that shows up in the word “ultra-processed.”
If your choice this week is a supermarket sandwich or skipping lunch, take the sandwich. Check the protein, the fibre, the salt and the sugar. That question serves you better than which side of a classification line something sits on.
A quote worth sitting with
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
— Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food
It’s the reminder NOVA overcomplicates: judge what’s on the plate, not which shelf it came from.
The Saturday Standard
The Sprint Triplet
5 rounds for time:
- 400m run
- 15 kettlebell swings, heavy
- 10 burpees
Most people go out too fast on round 1 and pay for it by round 3. Hold something back early and aim for even splits across all 5 rounds. Pacing decides this one as much as fitness does.
What’s happening with me
My new outdoor community fitness class, CommFit, now runs twice a week. Every Monday and Wednesday at 7pm.
And not only do I love seeing people get after it, I’m also really enjoying seeing the community aspect of it grow. Members are helping each other, pushing each other, laughing with each other. It’s a real highlight of my week.
So if you’re in the Whickham area and fancy giving it a go, your first class is free and as a special treat I’ve organised for a solar eclipse to take place during tonight’s class. There won’t be one this visible again until 2081. You’re welcome.