The New York Times published a series on wellness with particular emphasis on ultraprocessed food in the form of a discussion/test. As an online subscriber to the Times, a test-taking nerd, and a defender of ultraprocessed food, I was all in. Below are my comments and associated grades based on food-science principles for the first two sessions. I have provided links to each article, but you may not be able to access them if you do not subscribe to the Times.   

Day One: How Often Do You Buy Ultraprocessed Food?  by Jancee Dunn and Alice Callahan

Ultraprocessed foods are one of four groups in the NOVA classification scheme. I passed the first day of my test by selecting seven not ultraprocessed products out of eight series of choices to fill my virtual shopping cart. For the most part it was easy as the shortest ingredient list in most cases was not ultraprocessed. There were a few products that were harder to identify as there were more than five ingredients in all the choices for that category, indicating that the five-ingredient rule is no longer valid. I wonder how many consumers are aware of that change. The distinguishing characteristic in evaluating all 32 products was the list of ingredients and not the process. We are also warned that you couldn’t prepare most of ultraprocessed products in “your own kitchen.” I question that statement as there are recipes on the net to make our own Twinkies, mayonnaise, energy bars, and numerous other foods we buy as ultraprocessed products. Also, most of these ingredients that cause foods to be classified as ultraprocessed are available for sale on Amazon.com.

I found some of the distinctions between an approved ingredient and an ultra-ingredient (making the product ultraprocessed) to be puzzling. I guess we could claim that modified food starch is an ultra-ingredient because of the process. Does that make the process to produce the modified food starch more ultra than the one to produce an approved ingredient like cane sugar? I have been through a sugar factory and it is NOT a simple process and certainly not an ingredient we could make at home. Some other questionable differences include the permissible ingredient BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) but xanthan gum is designated as an ultra-ingredient. Natural flavors are ultra-ingredients because we don’t know the specific flavors are used, but non-specified enzymes are approved. Big Food has found a workaround the five-ingredient rule. It reformulates the products using longer ingredient lists for products not ultraprocessed loading them up with organic ingredients including organic honey.    

The authors explain that ultraprocessed foods have been linked to 32 health problems from anxiety to cancers to depression to diabetes to digestive disorders to heart disease to obesity. We don’t know if these foods actually cause these diseases or if they are associated with other factors in the foods such as fat, salt, and sugar. Studies suggest that some ultraprocessed products are more dangerous than others. Some observers say we should eliminate all ultraprocessed foods from our diet immediately. We can read other reports which indicate that it is a good idea to cut back the amount of these foods in our diet. Some food experts suggest we need to be careful before banning 60% of the food American adults and as much as 70% of their children in their diets without finding suitable, affordable replacements. The authors of the NY Times challenge note that ultraprocessed products tend to be high in fat, salt, and sugar. We don’t get to see the Nutrition Facts Statement for each of the 32 products they asked us to choose to put into our shopping cart, but the products not ultraprocessed in this challenge also seem to be also as high in fat, salt, and sugar. Does that make them any healthier?

In assessing a grade for the first day of the challenge on the positive side I noted that they focused on the ingredients and not the way the food was processed and not bound the five-ingredient rule. An indication that some ultraprocessed foods are not as dangerous as others suggest nuance not always seen in these articles. The authors also indicated that we buy such foods for convenience and affordability is commendable.

On the negative side, however, the idea that we can’t make imitations of ultraprocessed foods in our own kitchens makes no sense as long as we can look up recipes for them on the net and can buy ultra-ingredients on Amazon. Their attempts to rationalize that butylated hydroxytoluene, cane sugar, and non-specified enzymes count as approved ingredients but modified food starch, natural flavors, and xanthan gum are ultra-ingredients does not make technical sense. It is also apparent that the foods not classified as ultraprocessed appear to be just as high in fat, salt, and sugar as their ultraprocessed counterparts. Am I really eating healthier as I enjoy not ultraprocessed foods that have as much fat, salt, and sugar as their ultraprocessed counterparts? Is it the really ultra-ingredients that make ultraprocessed foods so dangerous? My grade for Day One of the challenge is a C.     

Day Two: Are Ultraprocessed Foods Really That Delicious? by Jancee Dunn

This lesson on ultraprocessed foods suggests that they are not really all that flavorful. Dunn describes the work of Ashley Gearhardt who claims that ultraprocessed foods are engineered by food companies to be deliberately addictive. Dr. Gearhardt has been pushing the idea that foods are as addictive as drugs. The only problem with that is the DSM-5, the Bible of all addictions and other mental-health disorders, doesn’t recognize food as an addictive agent. Her quest is to have DSM-6, due to come out soon, recognize food addiction as a substance-use disorder. The problem is that food does not fit the definition as a substance in the context of substance-use disorders.

Davis also suggests that the addiction is due to certain fat and sugar contributions as addiction triggers. The researcher that identified these sugar-fat combinations as appealing is Tera Fazzino (not mentioned in this article) from the University of Kansas. Dr. Fazzino describes such combinations in food products as hyperpalatable. She breaks down hyperpalatable foods into three classes as composed of (1) high fat and high salt, (2) high fat and high levels of simple sugars, and (3) high levels of carbohydrates and high salt. Hyperpalatable foods are by definition delicious—so delicious that we learn to crave them. They may lead to a behavioral addiction but more like an eating addiction rather than a food addiction.

Fortunately, quiz master Dunn turned to Dr. Arielle Johnson to help her distinguish the flavor quality of some ultraprocessed foods from those that are not ultraprocessed. Dr. Johnson, author of Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor is a flavor scientist who knows how to evaluate the sensory quality of foods. She explained that smell is the most important part of flavor. Aroma plus taste (sweet, sour, sour, and bitter) combine to provide the perception of flavor. The missing aspect of flavor, however, is taste. Flavor is the combination of taste and smell. Without placing the food in the mouth and chewing it, we don’t experience the sensation of flavor.

The first task directed me to compare ultraprocessed cheese puffs with a block of not ultraprocessed fresh cheese and ultraprocessed peanut butter with a not ultraprocessed handful of nuts. This exercise hit the jackpot for me as it came close to hitting three of my six favorite snacks I go to when I am hungry between meals—cream Havarti cheese, peanut butter, and a handful of mixed, salted nuts. I found smelling the cheese puffs gave me a subtle aroma that enticed me to popping a handful into my mouth with an explosion of sensory experience— a strong burst of flavor with the first crunch sending the aroma to my nose through the back of my throat (known in the sensory world as ‘retronasal aroma’)! Caution, I don’t get the aroma or crunchy burst by delicately chewing one cheese puff at a time.

When comparing a large spoonful of peanut butter with a handful of mixed nuts, I found some very different sensations. Sniffing the peanut butter, I detected a mild aroma that delivered a creamy sensation when combined with a strong retronasal reaction as I popped the whole spoonful in my mouth. The mixed nuts had little orthonasal (sniffing before entering the mouth) aroma. Each type of nut must be separated and ‘tasted’ by themselves to get an appreciation of their aroma as flavor is perceived in the mouth. The rare pecan in the mix was best eaten by itself with a subtle retronasal aroma and strong salt impact on flavor. The cashews had less salt impact but a stronger, distinctive cashew aroma at the back of the throat. The skins on the almonds, which predominated each handful, drowned out the flavor of the nut mix. I carefully picked out the nuts not resembling almonds to enjoy their individual flavors. Then, I popped the almonds in my mouth to finish the sensory experience.

The next comparison was between a raspberry yogurt and plain yogurt with raspberry jelly on the top. I sat this one out as I do not eat yogurt, flavored or plain, and don’t eat jams due to the 60-75% sugars present. Dr. Johnson judged the raspberry yogurt to smell and taste more like candy than real raspberries. She loved the rich, cooked fruit odor of the raspberry jam and even liked the flavor notes in the plain yogurt. Obviously, the flavor of the raspberry jam topped yogurt would produce more flavor burst than the raspberry-flavored yogurt if there was enough jam odor to overpower the flavor of the plain yogurt. I find plain yogurt personally disgusting, but that is just my humble opinion. The raspberry jam combined that nice cooked aroma with a hyperpalatable boost from the high sugar content. With the higher sugar content in the not ultraprocessed raspberry jam, was it a healthier choice than the ultraprocessed raspberry-flavored yogurt?

In assessing the second day of the challenge I appreciated the writer contacting an actual flavor scientist to help her evaluate the items. I suspect that the comparisons of the four food items were selected by Davis and not by Dr. Johnson. I also believe that it was the newswriter’s choice to evaluate smell by sniffing and not by actually eating.

Having conveyed that, I had some major problems with the exercise. The flavor scientist disappointed me by not using this test as a teachable moment to explain the difference between orthonasal and retronasal odor, particularly when it is one of her specialties! I have experienced the eyes in my classes glazing over when I bring up the topic, so I was sympathetic to the plight of Dr. Johnson in the exercise. The problem is that the flavor comparison of ultraprocessed flavor with the not ultraprocessed flavor was not valid. Flavor is not limited to sniffing, but it is an experience in the mouth with the release of odors through the back of our throats combined with the contribution of sweet, salty, and sour, and bitter tastes that give us flavor. My grade for Day Three of the challenge is unfortunately a D.

to be continued

     

Coming Soon: Flavor Dust and Shopping Like a Nutrition Scientist: Grading the Healthier Challenge Test Continued