Ultra-processed foods are not necessarily unhealthy

A new research project is challenging the idea that heavily processed foods can't be part of a healthy diet. This study aims to develop a diet plan that gets 80% of its calories from heavily processed foods, while still sticking to the 2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

In a trial run, researchers put together a week-long meal plan of 2,000 calories a day. The foods chosen were heavily processed according to the NOVA system, a widely-used method to classify processed foods. However, they also fell within the categories of foods recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and are items commonly eaten by Americans.

This meal plan, largely based on heavily processed foods, was found to get 91% of its calories from these processed items. When the quality of this diet was scored using the Healthy Eating Index-2015, a measure of how well a diet aligns with recommended healthy eating patterns, it scored 86 out of 100. While the meal plan was a bit too high in salt and didn't include enough whole grains, it did have enough of all other major and minor nutrients, except for vitamins D and E, and choline.

These findings suggest that even a diet relying mostly on heavily processed foods can still be high in quality and provide the necessary nutrients, with some exceptions. This research could change the way we view processed foods and what we consider to be a balanced diet.

Jn.nutrition.org

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