{"id":19616,"date":"2025-01-09T01:14:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T02:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=19616"},"modified":"2025-01-09T02:24:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T02:24:32","slug":"the-healthier-eating-challenge-how-to-find-ultraprocessed-food-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=19616","title":{"rendered":"The Healthier Eating Challenge: How to Find Ultraprocessed Food Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">This is Day 4 of the 5-Day Healthier Eating Challenge. To start at the beginning, <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/explain\/2025\/well\/ultraprocessed-food-challenge\" title><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">click here<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So far, these challenges have kept you at home. You\u2019ve scanned ingredients lists, conducted a taste test and zhuzhed up some snacks \u2014 all without straying too far from your kitchen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But today, we\u2019re heading to a real-life grocery store to identify ultraprocessed foods and their less processed alternatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If this sounds daunting, don\u2019t worry. I called a few experts to help us out. Marion Nestle, an emerita professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, agreed to come to my local supermarket so we could look at food labels together. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">I also chatted with two other experts to learn how they make choices when they\u2019re shopping.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-581f9dbd\"><span>Well Challenge Day 4: Grocery shop like a nutrition scientist.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">First, think of an ultraprocessed food you regularly buy: Maybe it\u2019s frozen pizza or a packaged snack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Then, go to a grocery store and read the label for that food. Note how many ingredients you don\u2019t recognize. Take a few minutes and compare it with similar items: If you\u2019re looking at strawberry yogurt, scan its ingredients list alongside those of other strawberry yogurts. Is there a less processed choice you can make that still falls within your price range?<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-589d4de0\"><span>Notice the ingredients that make a UPF a UPF.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As we cruised the aisles, Dr. Nestle flagged certain ingredients that signal that a food or drink may be ultraprocessed. These include thickeners like modified starches, gums (xanthan gum, guar gum), emulsifiers (like soy lecithin and carrageenan), artificial sweeteners (like Stevia and Splenda), synthetic food dyes (like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10502305\/#:~:text=Synthetic%20dyes%20are%20prevalent%20in,the%20most%20common%20%5B25%5D.\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Red 40 and Yellow 5<\/a>), artificial flavors and other ingredients that aren\u2019t normally found in home kitchens or even grocery stores.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2Fwell%2Fultraprocessed-foods-alternatives.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2Fwell%2Fultraprocessed-foods-alternatives.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2Fwell%2Fultraprocessed-foods-alternatives.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2Fwell%2Fultraprocessed-foods-alternatives.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is Day 4 of the 5-Day Healthier Eating Challenge. To start at the beginning, click here.So far, these challenges have kept you at home. You\u2019ve scanned ingredients lists, conducted a taste test and zhuzhed up some snacks \u2014 all without straying too far from your kitchen.But today, we\u2019re heading to a real-life grocery store to identify ultraprocessed foods and their less processed alternatives.If this sounds daunting, don\u2019t worry. I called a few experts to help us out. Marion Nestle, an emerita professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, agreed to come to my local supermarket so we could look at food labels together. I also chatted with two other experts to learn how they make choices when they\u2019re shopping.Well Challenge Day 4: Grocery shop like a nutrition scientist.First, think of an ultraprocessed food you regularly buy: Maybe it\u2019s frozen pizza or a packaged snack.Then, go to a grocery store and read the label for that food. Note how many ingredients you don\u2019t recognize. Take a few minutes and compare it with similar items: If you\u2019re looking at strawberry yogurt, scan its ingredients list alongside those of other strawberry yogurts. Is there a less processed choice you can make that still falls within your price range?Notice the ingredients that make a UPF a UPF.As we cruised the aisles, Dr. Nestle flagged certain ingredients that signal that a food or drink may be ultraprocessed. These include thickeners like modified starches, gums (xanthan gum, guar gum), emulsifiers (like soy lecithin and carrageenan), artificial sweeteners (like Stevia and Splenda), synthetic food dyes (like Red 40 and Yellow 5), artificial flavors and other ingredients that aren\u2019t normally found in home kitchens or even grocery stores.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19618,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19616"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19619,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19616\/revisions\/19619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}