Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds • Hacker News Board

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#21

Post by omginternets » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:50 PM UTC

omarhaneef wrote: post #8

I wish I knew what was ultraprocessed. > "Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives," according to the study. But if I have a package that says it is whole grain or whatever, how do I know if it is or isn't…

Rules of thumb:

1. Don't buy meals; buy ingredients.

2. The longer the list of ingredients, the more likely it is to be "highly" processed

3. The way you avoid 'highly' processed stuff is to avoid processing altogether. Buy corn you have to husk, meat you have to cut, fish you have to filet, wine you have to uncork, bread you have to slice, etc.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#22

Post by criddell » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

4pkjai wrote: post #11

I think I sort of know what they are, but a definition of "ultra-processed" foods would be good.

The article says they are “industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives”.

I take that to mean milk may be a whole food, yogurt might be a processed food, and spray cheese in a can would be ultra-processed.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#23

Post by allturtles » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

I'm always pretty skeptical of correlative nutrition science studies, and this one is no different.

I would posit that anyone who studies "ultraprocessed" foods is unlikely to ever release a study showing they are good for you. The very category of ultraprocessed foods was invented to be a "bad-for-you" food category, and so the research program is "find more evidence that they are bad."

Categorizing food based on whether it's industrial or home-made may be a useful heuristic for lifestyle choices, but it seems unlikely to me to be useful for getting a deep understanding of nutrition and health.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#24

Post by ok123456 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

lezojeda wrote: post #18

pessimizer wrote: post #3

> “People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know. We say we don’t have time but it really doesn’t take that much time,” Suemoto said. This is bullshit in a very important way: you have to know how to cook. Bring back home economics classes.

And tbh, it really does take time to prepare a good meal, including washing dishes and all that. For those of us living alone it takes a good chunk of our free time after work.

Get instapot. Throw ingredients into instapot. Press button. Put contents into bowl. Rinse out instapot. Eat. Rinse out bowl.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#25

Post by doliveira » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

omarhaneef wrote: post #8

I wish I knew what was ultraprocessed. > "Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives," according to the study. But if I have a package that says it is whole grain or whatever, how do I know if it is or isn't…

Ultraprocessed for me means "truly delicious and dopamine-inducing". Not that I don't find other food tasty, but something that feels engineered to please your tongue is usually ultraprocessed.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#26

Post by picture » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

omginternets wrote: post #14

mjburgess wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that required housewives. We're missing a full day's domestic labour.

Nah. I work long hours and still find time to cook. Dinner takes about 15 mins to prepare, on average. I think the issue has more to do with people not knowing how to cook things that are both simple and nutritious. I really feel for people who are trying to learn; every beginner's cookbook is full of things that require specific ingredients, complicated prep work, or a shit-ton of chopping. I've toyed around with th…

Have you come across any good (or, better,) cookbooks or resources for simple and nutritious food? I'm about to go to college so it would be a great help

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#27

Post by vkk8 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:53 PM UTC

omarhaneef wrote: post #8

I wish I knew what was ultraprocessed. > "Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives," according to the study. But if I have a package that says it is whole grain or whatever, how do I know if it is or isn't…

Indeed. I hate the term "ultraprocessed" so much, because I have no idea what to look for if I try to avoid it.

If I chop my potatoes before boiling them, is that processing? If not, which steps in cooking count as "processing"? And how many of those steps need to be included for the food to be "ultraprocessed"? How can I avoid accidentally "ultraprocessing" my food when I cook it at home?

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#28

Post by Animats » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:56 PM UTC

It's not clear that "ultraprocessed" is the issue. The article says "they are usually very high in sugar, salt and fat". Too much salt and sugar are known to be problems. That has nothing to do with processing. Although it does have to do with what will sell.

The author has a "natural" bias.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#29

Post by cortesoft » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:56 PM UTC

lezojeda wrote: post #18

pessimizer wrote: post #3

> “People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know. We say we don’t have time but it really doesn’t take that much time,” Suemoto said. This is bullshit in a very important way: you have to know how to cook. Bring back home economics classes.

And tbh, it really does take time to prepare a good meal, including washing dishes and all that. For those of us living alone it takes a good chunk of our free time after work.

> For those of us living alone it takes a good chunk of our free time after work.

It takes even more time for people preparing food for a family. Throw in kids who are picky eaters, and it is even harder.

Re: Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds

#30

Post by beej71 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #3

> “People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know. We say we don’t have time but it really doesn’t take that much time,” Suemoto said. This is bullshit in a very important way: you have to know how to cook. Bring back home economics classes.

There's plenty of how-to-cook information on the internet. I'm a passable cook from what I've learned online. It's easy to learn a new thing every meal, and after a month, you have quite a toolkit.

So I don't disagree with you, but I think there's a faster, easier way now than home ec.

And to Suemoto, every nontrivial thing you cook takes waaaaay longer than getting a $9 burrito.