Convenient, Tasty, Ready-to-Eat Foods and Beverage Products – Friend or Foe?

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The Drug-Like Effect of Today’s Food

Johnson and Kenny ² studied rats using drug-addiction behavioural models, but instead of drugs, the rats were given a cafeteria-style diet filled with energy-dense, high-fat, and high-carbohydrate foods like bacon, cheesecake, and chocolate. This diet led to two behavioural effects in the rats that mirrored responses typically seen with addictive drugs - uncontrolled seeking of the energy-dense, high-fat, and high-carbohydrate foods and the quantity of such foods to satisfy the cravings increase over time. Extended access to such food disrupts the brain’s reward system for a long time, even after food is removed. In contrast, drug-related disruptions fade shortly after withdrawal.³ This study may provide an explanation why we, as humans, find it hard to stay away from foods that we know are bad for our weight management and healthy longevity such as chips, cookies, ice-cream. 

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Awareness is Key

Knowing your regular sources of saturated fats, transfat, and sugar is the first step is getting out of this addiction cycle. With awareness you are better able to make informed decisions about your food choices. 

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What you need to know about Fats

Both saturated fats and trans fats pose significant risks to health. They increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), decrease high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ("good" cholesterol), and contribute to arterial clogging, significantly raising the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions. These fats are also associated with certain cancers, obesity, and increased abdominal fat, promoting chronic inflammation, a precursor to numerous diseases ⁴. By understanding their sources and health impacts, you can make informed food choices to reduce your consumption of these unhealthy fats and improve your overall well-being.

Let’s start with trans fats, also known as trans-fatty acids, which are fats produced during a process called hydrogenation, where hydrogen is added to polyunsaturated oils to make them solid at room temperature and prevent rancidity ⁵. They are widely used in processed foods due to their stability, affordability, and desirable texture. Industrially produced trans fat can be found in margarine, vegetable shortening, Vanaspati ghee, fried foods, and baked goods such as crackers, biscuits and pies. Baked and fried street and restaurant foods often contain industrially produced trans fat. Trans fat can also be found naturally in meat and dairy foods from ruminant animals (e.g. cows, sheep, goats). Trans fat concentrations in PHO range from 25% to 45%. Trans fats are also found in small amounts in meat and dairy products from ruminant animals like cows, sheep, and goats. Both industrially produced and naturally occurring trans fat are equally harmful. Use of trans fats increased dramatically in recent years because they tend to be cheaper than healthier fats and have several chemical and physical characteristics, such as being solid at room temperature, that make them suitable for a variety of processed food products. Frying oil at high temperatures leads to modest increases in trans fat concentrations. However, this amount of trans fat generated is low (up to 2–3 %) when compared with the amount of trans fat in PHO.

It’s commonly thought that saturated fats are only found in animal-based foods like fatty cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal, processed meats like sausages, hot dogs, and bacon, dairy products like full-fat milk, cream, and cheese, butter and ghee, ice cream and other dairy-based desserts, lard, and egg yolks. There are some plant-based products containing saturated fats too including coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil and palm kernel oil which are used in many processed and packaged foods including cream-based sauces and dressings like mayonnaise and ranch dressing for salads.

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What you need to know about Sugar

Next, let’s explore the other love-hate relation in a weight loss journey - sugar. It’s interesting how the body can get over its love for sugar over a period of abstinence. Being familiar with the terms that indicate the presence of sugars, including natural, added, and processed forms is a critical first step to cut down sugar in your diet, hence, your weight. Check the ingredients list of your regular food products and beverage products for all the following terms:

Common Sugar Terms

• Sucrose
• Glucose
• Fructose
• Lactose
• Maltose
• Dextrose
• Galactose

Syrups

• Corn syrup
• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• Maple syrup
• Rice syrup
• Golden syrup
• Glucose syrup
• Malt syrup
• Cane syrup
• Barley malt syrup

Sugar Alcohols (Polyols)

• Sorbitol
• Mannitol
• Xylitol
• Erythritol
• Maltitol
• Isomalt

Crystalline Forms

• Cane sugar
• Raw sugar
• Turbinado sugar
• Demerara sugar
• Confectioners' sugar
• Icing sugar

Other Sweeteners

• Agave nectar/syrup
• Honey
• Coconut sugar
• Brown rice syrup
• Date sugar
• Palm sugar
• Beet sugar
• Caramel
• Treacle
• Molasses
• Evaporated cane juice

Processed Sweeteners

• Invert sugar
• Golden syrup
• Refiner’s syrup
• Liquid fructose
• Glucose solids
• Fruit juice concentrates
• Fruit juice crystals

Hidden Sugar Names

• Maltodextrin
• Ethyl maltol
• Panela
• Muscovado

The above sources of sugar are found in soft drinks, energy drinks,  flavored water, sweetened tea and coffee, fruit juices including freshly-squeezed juices, alcoholic drinks, cookies, cakes, candies, breakfast cereals, seemingly nutritious granola bars, protein bars, flavored yogurt, dried fruits, condiments and sauces  like ketchup, and barbecue sauce. There are many processed foods which use less common names to make sugars less obvious, so it’s crucial to read labels carefully!

Be mindful of all the above and reduce your consumption of calorie-dense and nutrients-weak food products and beverage products, you can make healthier food choices that align with your dietary goals and reduce the associated heath risks.

Ultra processed foods really can damage our gut integrity in couple different ways, not only because of the and so forth that are put in in these food products, and there's been recently done quite a few big meta analysis about the adverse health effects of ultra processed foods and how they increase the risk of various different kind of disease

Check out the following table to understand more about the level of processing of the foods that you consume. Nourish your body with foods that are good for the body - whole foods and avoid the harmful ulltra-processed foods that made to hook you and increase your weight and risks to diseases over time as they are not only high in sugar and fats contents, but comprise other artificial chemicals like emulsifiers and stabilisers.

Level of Food Processing ⁶

Whole Foods

These are single-ingredient foods or drinks in their natural state, with no or very minimal alterations that retain their original properties found in its natural unprocessed form. 

Examples: Fresh fruits, eggs, vegetables, milk, milk without fat, unseasoned meat, and poultry without skin.

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Basic Processed

These foods are processed but still consist of just one ingredient. Processing steps may include extraction, pressing, refining, purification, and milling or canning to improve shelf life, reduce spoilage or improve bioavailability.

Examples: Oil, sugar, whole-grain flour, refined-grain flour, pasta, fermentation of milk to produce yogurt, precooking grains, white rice, and fruit or vegetables canned with no additional flavouring steps

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Moderately Processed

These foods are minimally processed and may contain flavour enhancers like salt, sweeteners, fats or flavouring to improve taste, but they still look like the original plant or animal source.

Examples: Whole-grain breads, salted nuts, vegetables canned with added salt or vinegar, fruit canned in syrup, tortillas, crackers, or breakfast cereals made from whole-grain flour with no added sweeteners or fat.

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Ultra-Processed‍

These are multi-ingredient food and beverage products created industrially. They are closer to chemical mixtures, no longer resembling their original plant or animal sources.

Examples: White bread, sweetened beverages, cookies, chips, frozen pizzas candy, prepared mixed dishes, ketchup, margarine, mayonnaise, jarred pasta sauce, condiments, dips, sauces, toppings.

While convenience and taste are often tempting, they can have negative effects on your health over time. It's important to read food labels carefully to identify unhealthy ingredients. Limit your intake of processed and fried foods, and opt for healthier alternatives when possible. Making mindful choices can go a long way in supporting long-term wellness. At CareSense, Mandy is here to help you stay on track by pointing out the unhealthy elements in your food whenever you capture a food photo! We're with you every step of the way, supporting your journey toward healthier choices.

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References:

1. Channel News Asia. (2024). Study finds ultra-processed food linked to over 30 harmful effects to health: Here's what you need to know. Channel News Asia. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ultra-processed-food-health-issues-linked-cancer-cardiovascular-mental-faq-study-4159181
2. Johnson, P. M., & Kenny, P. J. (2010). Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats. Nature Neuroscience, 13(5), 635–641. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2519
3. Epstein, D. H., & Shaham, Y. (2010). Cheesecake-eating rats and the question of food addiction. Nature Neuroscience, 13(5), 529–531. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0510-529
4. World Health Organization. (2024). Trans fat. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trans-fat
5. MedlinePlus. (2024). Trans fatty acids. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/19514.htm
6. de Araújo, T. P., de Moraes, M. M., Afonso, C., Santos, C., & Rodrigues, S. S. P. (2022). Food processing: Comparison of different food classification systems. Nutrients, 14(4), Article 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14040729
7. Noronha, J. C., Thom, G., & Lean, M. E. J. (2022). Total diet replacement within an integrated intensive lifestyle intervention for remission of type 2 diabetes: Lessons from DiRECT. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13, Article 888557. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.888557
8. Huffman, M. (2009). A fresh, new approach to improve quality outcomes and compliance for patients with chronic conditions. Home Healthcare Nurse, 27(8), 490–496; quiz 496–498. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NHH.0000360924.64474.04
9. Gordon, N. F., Salmon, R. D., Wright, B. S., Faircloth, G. C., Reid, M. B., & Zhou, Y. (2017). Clinical effectiveness of lifestyle health coaching: Case study of an evidence-based program. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617708562
10. Stan, D. L., Cutshall, S. M., Adams, T. F., Ghosh, K., Clark, M. M., Wieneke, K. C., Kebede, E. B., Donelan Dunlap, B. J., Ruddy, K. J., Hazelton, J. K., Butts, A. M., Jenkins, S. M., Croghan, I. T., & Bauer, B. A. (2020). Wellness coaching: An intervention to increase healthy behavior in breast cancer survivors. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(3), 305–315. https://doi.org/10.1188/20.CJON.305-315

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