什么是超加工食品?你是不是吃得太多了?

什么是超加工食品?你是不是吃得太多了?

Technically, many of the healthy foods we eat are processed, but not in the way you might think. It's a matter of semantics. For example, if you have a Mason jar full of organic dried beans, you have processed food in your pantry. Frozen vegetables are processed, even if you picked the vegetables from your garden, blanched them and put them in the freezer. The moment you blanched them, you processed them. Peanuts-only peanut butter, steel cut oats and organic extra virgin olive oil are all processed to a degree, yet most people consider these foods part of a healthy diet.

從技術(shù)上講，我們吃的很多健康食品都是加工過的，但不是你想象的那樣。這是一個語義問題。例如，如果你有一個裝滿有機干豆的玻璃瓶，你的食品儲藏室里就有加工過的食物。冷凍蔬菜是經(jīng)過加工的，即使你從你的菜園里摘蔬菜，焯一下，放進冰箱。當你把它們漂白的時候，你已經(jīng)處理過了?；ㄉ?mdash;—只有花生醬、鋼切燕麥和有機特級初榨橄欖油都經(jīng)過一定程度的加工，但大多數(shù)人認為這些食物是健康飲食的一部分。

When we say we shouldn't eat processed foods, what we really mean is ultra-processed foods. There's a difference, and studies say Americans are eating way more ultra-processed foods than we should, leading to excessive (and often unrealized) sugar consumption with some unfortunate health consequences.

當我們說我們不應(yīng)該吃加工食品時，我們真正的意思是超加工食品。這是有區(qū)別的，研究表明，美國人吃的超加工食品比我們應(yīng)該吃的要多得多，導(dǎo)致了過量(而且往往沒有意識到)的糖分攝入，并帶來一些不幸的后果。

Ultra-processed foods could be adding sugar to your diet, and you don't even realize it. (Photo: Gayvoronskaya_Yana/Shutterstock)

In a recent analysis of more than 230,000 products, researchers found that more than 70% of them were classified as ultra-processed. Among the top 25 manufacturers by sales volume, 86% of products were classified as ultra-processed.

在最近對23萬多種產(chǎn)品的分析中，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，超過70%的產(chǎn)品屬于超加工產(chǎn)品。在銷售額排名前25位的制造商中，86%的產(chǎn)品屬于超加工產(chǎn)品。

If you're looking to decrease the sugar in your diet, decreasing the ultra-processed foods you eat, even the ones that you wouldn't normally associate with sugar, can help you achieve your goal.

如果你想在你的飲食中減少糖，減少你吃的超加工食品，即使是少吃那些通常不會與糖聯(lián)系在一起的食物，都可以幫助你達到目標。

The additives in processed food don't sound like much, but they matter. (Photo: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com)

One theory is that the foods contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat. Those ingredients have been linked to obesity, which can also lead to a greater risk of cancer. A second theory is that some ultra-processed foods contain certain additives that have carcinogenic properties. For instance, titanium dioxide is used as a whitening agent or in food packaging to improve food's texture. Studies have shown that the additive could cause lesions on the colon or gastrointestinal inflammation.

一種理論是這些食物含有高鹽、高糖和高脂肪。這些成分與肥胖有關(guān)，而肥胖也會增加患癌癥的風險。第二種理論是，一些超加工食品含有某些具有致癌特性的添加劑。例如，二氧化鈦被用作增白劑或在食品包裝中改善食品的質(zhì)地。研究表明，該添加劑可引起結(jié)腸或胃腸道炎癥的損害。

Frozen lasagna generally has much more sugar per serving than homemade. (Photo: mikiledray/Shutterstock)

Also, another theory is high temperatures used to process the food can create newly formed contaminants. Finally, BPA (Bisphenol A) is commonly used in food packaging and can leech into the food.

另外，另一種理論是，用于加工食物的高溫會產(chǎn)生新形成的污染物。最后，雙酚A (BPA)是食品包裝中常用的一種物質(zhì)，會滲透到食品中。

While further studies are needed to know the exact reasons why ultra-processed foods can have such an impact on health, it's safe to say that the consequences of eating them outweigh the benefits.

雖然還需要進一步的研究來了解為什么超加工食品會對健康產(chǎn)生如此大的影響，但可以肯定的說，食用它們的傷害大于益處。

Unexplained weight gain? It might be connected to the amount of processed foods you're eating. (Photo: altafulla/Shutterstock)