Limiting Ultra-Processed Foods Alone Doesn't Ensure a Healthy Diet, Study Reveals

A new study, presented at NUTRITION 2024, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, demonstrated that eating primarily minimally processed foods, as they are defined by the NOVA classification system, does not automatically make for a healthy diet, suggesting that the types of foods we eat may matter more than the level of processing used to make them.

Comparing two menus reflecting a typical Western diet — one emphasizing minimally processed foods and the other emphasizing ultra-processed foods, as categorized by the NOVA classification system — the researchers found that the less processed menu reached its expiration date over three times faster without delivering any additional nutritional value.

In the study, researchers constructed two menus: a less-processed menu deriving 20% of its calories from ultra-processed foods and a more-processed menu deriving 67% of its calories from ultra-processed foods. The level of processing in each menu was determined using the NOVA system of classification.

Both menus were calculated to have a Healthy Eating Index score of about 43-44 out of 100, indicating poor adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The researchers calculated that the median time to expiration for less-processed menu items was 35 days, versus 120 days for the more-processed menu items.