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viernes, 29 de marzo 2024
29/03/2024
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The Bitter Pandemic Hidden in Ultra-Processed Foodstuffs

By: Ronal Castañeda Tabares-Journalist

They are cheap, addictive due to their high levels of sugar and salt, and they are generating a long-term public health problem. In Alma Mater, we tell you why you should be careful with the consumption of ultra-processed food products and how you can start giving your body better information.

The Bitter Pandemic Hidden in Ultra-Processed Foodstuffs

Some groceries come to be advertised as "healthy" with sugar-free, low-fat, diet or light labels. Photo: Pixabay

Since a baby is born, it is initiated into artificial foods with formula milk—an industrial food substitute with flavor, color and texture additives, as well as preservatives. Years later, the child’s lunchbox will have yogurt with peach pieces, sugary cereals, sodas, compotes and snacks of all kinds. Accustomed for decades to packaged or canned foods, the adult will fill his family's pantry with cookies, sauces, cakes, sweetened or light drinks and other products with very low or no nutritional value. Poor nutrition, in the long run, can take its toll on the body.

"Unfortunately, we have flooded the world with junk food. In schools and universities, we have machines that sell us ultra-processed foods", warned Eduardo Guerrero, who worked for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for 25 years, and was an advisor and consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) on early health care and promotion.

The professor is concerned that poor nutrition is causing a public health crisis, especially in recent decades, when non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular and respiratory problems have increased. In fact, in June 2018, WHO recalled that NCDs "kill 41 million people every year, equivalent to 71% of deaths worldwide", and that more than 85% of these "premature" deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

"The numbers don't lie. In the United States, 3000 cases of strokes are reported in children under ten years of age every year", said physician and founder of the Instituto de Medicina Funcional Carlos Jaramillo in his 2009 book El milagro metabólico (The Metabolic Miracle). In it, he talks about how to correct bad eating habits if you want to have a healthy life.

We eat not only to satisfy hunger. We give information to our body through what we eat so that it can function. Therefore, the writer points out, bad information will result in poor functioning and will be the gateway to chronic diseases,

"Studies indicate that between 2020 and 2030, one in three Americans will have diabetes. By 2040, one in every ten people on the planet will suffer from it", said the author about the "sweet pandemic" that does not respect culture, sex, religion, race or social class. Universidad de Antioquia’s Unit of Problems of Interest in Public Nutrition, which belongs to the School of Nutrition and Dietetics, has focused its work on ultra-processed foods (UPF). It is based on a classification according to the type of source of the foodstuffs. 

The first group is natural foods: fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds and meat in their pure state. The second group is minimally processed foods, that is, those with original ingredients that are made at home, for example, tomato juice, beans or scrambled eggs. The third group is processed products, which are partly industrialized for their preservation with essential additives such as the widely used sodium benzoate or potassium sulfate. They are found in arepas and some dairy products. Finally, there are the ultra-processed food products, characterized by a high number of chemical substances that people do not recognize. The last group, which WHO calls "ultra-processed foods", is not considered food by the Unit, since this kind of food does not promote proper health and nutrition like the other kinds. 

Keys to Recognize Unhealthy Foods

They come packaged, be it in cartons, cans, bags, bottles or another kind of packaging. They are usually not the basis of a healthy diet. They contain ingredients that increase their shelf life. Their composition table includes additives such as aspartame, calcium benzoate, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, carrageenan and other words almost impossible to pronounce. The origin of this food is not natural. After additives, sugars, fats and added sodium, it is difficult to know how natural a product is.
Source: RedPaPaz.

By one name or another, the bad guys in this story, ultra-processed foods, are described by PAHO as industrial formulations essentially based on additive substances that give color, flavor and texture that mimic food but are nutritionally unbalanced. "They are high in free sugars, total fat, saturated fat and sodium, and low in protein, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins compared to unprocessed or minimally processed products, dishes and foods", the agency said in a 2019 article.

It is worth pausing for a moment at this point. Do an exercise yourself. Look in your pantry, pick up a can or package of food and look at the label. You will notice that package cookies contain wheat flour, culinary ingredients such as sugar, fat and salt, and additives for a nice taste and crunchy texture. You will also realize that "lemon chips" are not just chips with some lemon, that orange juice has "orange flavor", that boxed almond milk, sold as the panacea of plant-based dairy products, contains unpronounceable words in its table of ingredients and the key element of ultra-processed products: sugar.

Not to spoil your food, but if you turn over your ketchup package, you will find a list of elements that give that creamy, moist and fresh look to the dressing. Humectants, gelling agents —for a gelatinous appearance— acidulants —modifiers of acidity and viscosity— antioxidants —to provide citrus flavor— coloring, sweeteners, preservatives and flavor enhancers are some of those elements. Can you eat ketchup? You should know that it does not make a significant contribution, and in the long term, it may have negative consequences for your health.

The research project Double Burden of Malnutrition and Lots of Ultra-Processed Foods, published in November 2020 in the journal Experimenta, indicates that prolonged consumption of these products causes a double problem: malnutrition by deficiency and overeating. The former, “better known as undernutrition, is reflected in alterations such as stunting and anemia. 

Malnutrition by excess, on the other hand, manifests itself in overweight, obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease", the article explains. As an example of the above, the 2015 National Survey of Nutritional Status (Encuesta Nacional de la Situación Nutricional—ENSIN), the most recent official indicator available, reveals that, in Colombia, one in ten children under five years of age is stunted. In turn, 6.4% of the population in this age group is overweight or obese. In the case of women of childbearing age (13 to 49 years of age), 15.5% suffer from anemia, and 49.7% are overweight. 

Dangerous Bites

While researching healthy ideas for children's menus, the organization RedPaPaz noticed that parents and school education are often blamed for children and young people eating junk and ultra-processed food. However, they are not the only culprits.

"Where did moms and dads get the idea that it was great to send boxed juice in the lunchbox or that a sachet of soup was better than homemade pumpkin soup? We live in an environment that bombards us with advertising for these products, which also hook us with colors, toys and characters", said Angélica María Claro, psychologist and operations director of RedPaPaz. 

In fact, the researchers consulted held that eating is not an individual act, but it involves actors and practices that final consumers are unaware of and that influence their decision of what to eat. In a recent research project, nutritionist, dietician and microbiologist Cindy Alejandra Pachón, a graduate of Universidad de Antioquia’s School of Nutrition and Dietetics, identified the commercial strategies of 35 companies that produce ultra-processed foods in the country. Such strategies include marketing, distribution, design and something she defines as the "value speech", which is when "products are qualified as better than original ones as if they had added value", said the researcher.

Additionally, packaged food is everywhere, in any store in the country and in any place. Hence, one of the proposals of the Unit of Problems of Interest in Public Nutrition is to promote healthy environments. "I’ll give you an example. If you go now to a health care provider where patients with cardiovascular risk, overweight, obesity and diabetes are treated, the first thing you will find is a vending machine full of ultra-processed food products in the waiting room", said professor and doctor in public health Eliana María Pérez Tamayo, whose area of work focuses on food and nutrition policymakers and the corporate political activity of the food industry.

You can finish this article and think about opening the package of cookies. At first glance, the snack is not going to hurt you, but it has been proven to cause long-term public health problems. Start by changing the quality of what you eat. Give your body good information; it will thank you for it.

Healthy Package in Progress

Dozens of civil society groups in the country have taken action to promote policies to reduce the impact of ultra-processed foods. Rubén Ernesto Orjuela, a member of Educar Consumidores, says that a package of healthy measures is underway, including a tax on sugary drinks, protection of breastfeeding (as explained above, ultra-processed products are present from birth), promotion of agro-ecological products and healthy eating in schools.

One of the most important initiatives is the front labeling of products with warning seals. The current one is inefficient, according to the collectives. The initiative has been in Congress since last year under Bill 167, also known as “Junk Food Bill”. The bill has already been approved in two debates in the House. It needs two more in the Senate before June 20. If the bill is not passed before that date, it will sink again for lack of legislative procedure, as explained by Angélica María Claro.

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