# Ultra/High processed foods in the context of an otherwise healthy diet

**URL:** <https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739>\
**Category:** Nutrition Q&A \[Moderated\]\
**Created:** [July 25, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739 "2023-07-25T16:12:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Smokes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Smokes](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Smokes)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 4:12pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739/1 "2023-07-25T16:12:30Z")

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Is there any information on the health benefits of excluding ultra/high processed food in the context of an otherwise health promoting diet?

If a diet consisted of:  
\< 5% calories from added sugar  
\< 10% calories from sat fat

8-10 serving of fruits and vegetables.

> 40g of daily fiber  
> Appropriate protein level based on body weight

Is there any information that spending additional time and effort over this to minimize the intake of processed foods likely to provide additional health benefits?

It starts to make my head hurt, especially when I ask, "well is shredded wheat more or less processed than oatmeal and how does that relate to making bread at home with enriched unbleached flour?"​

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**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739/2 "2023-07-27T15:46:04Z")

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It depends what foods you mean. Protein powders are ultra-processed, for example. I think focusing more on what the foods are that people are regularly eating would be a better use of time than drawing a line in the sand for minimally processed vs ultra processed.

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**Author:** ![Smokes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Smokes](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Smokes)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739/3 "2023-08-03T21:45:08Z")

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That makes sense to me, but what generally seems to happen in my diet–I go to self-prepare chicken/fish/turkey/fruits/veggies/oatmeal/rice, but then end up with about 1-1.5K calories I need to fill that, I just don’t feel like filling with more of the same so I end up with a variety of PB sandwiches, cereal, bread, a beer, etc. Usually for that last chunk of calories I’m looking for something more convenient and spontaneous…and is generally guided by what I feel like eating and while I take into consideration things like added sugar and saturated fat, I’d never considered “ultra processed” as a consideration.

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**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739/4 "2023-08-04T14:37:43Z")

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I don’t think bread, peanut butter, or many types of cereal (e.g. whole grain) are bad. I agree that using processed vs non-processed as a distinguishing factor in food selection isn’t really helpful, though avoiding some common features of ultra-processed foods like added sat. fat, added sodium, added sugars, etc. would be useful.

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**Author:** ![Smokes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Smokes](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Smokes)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/ultra-high-processed-foods-in-the-context-of-an-otherwise-healthy-diet/13739/5 "2023-08-04T21:42:34Z")

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That seems like a much more straightforward approach from a consumer perspective–sat fat, added sugar, fiber, sodium is clearly marked and an easy decision point. The “degree of processing” and understanding still seems shrouded in opacity to me. Thanks!