An alarming look at the foods consumed by families across America: A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that most Americans get more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, and that’s leading to some serious health issues.
CBS News Miami visited a South Florida family’s kitchen with a nutritionist to gather information that can help you live a better life.
Katrina and Charles Winters spend a lot of time in their kitchen. They homeschool their daughter, preparing all her daily meals and run a meal service for their employees.
“Most of our food is pretty natural, whole food,” said Katrina Winters. “I would say that we do have a snack cabinet that we keep pretty stocked for our daughter, also, I take her to school and I need to have things I can just grab and go in the car.”
“I travel a lot, so we do have to eat out quite a lot but when we are home we are cooking a most of our meals here,” added Charles Winters.
Founder of Essence Nutrition, dietitian Monica Auslander-Moreno, examined their pantry and refrigerator to highlight what they’re doing well and areas for improvement.
“This is a processed food; there is nothing that has been added to these hazel nuts, so that’s great, but someone had to put them in this bag and that’s okay,” said Auslander-Moreno.
“These are peanut butter and jelly dippers; this would be an ultra-processed food. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I wouldn’t eat them, but we would define them as a UPF,” she continued.
What are ultra-processed foods (UPFs)?
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are typically low in fiber and high in salt, sweeteners and unhealthy fats. The most common offenders include burgers, sandwiches, sweet baked goods, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened beverages.
“The concern is that we are displacing the whole foods, the fruits and vegetables. Or the lightly processed foods, like the lightly frozen fruits and vegetables, and we are going to suffer from completely preventable diseases as a result of consuming these ultra-processed foods,” Auslander-Moreno said.
Studies have associated these types of foods with obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
According to the new CDC report, from August 2021 to August 2023, individuals aged one year and older consumed an average of 55% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods. Children aged 1-18 consumed an even higher percentage, at 61.9%, compared to adults 19 and older, who averaged 53%
CBS News Miami’s nutrition expert emphasized that children often emulate their parents’ behavior, as displayed by 5-year-old Jaco and his little brother, who can easily list their favorite healthy foods.
“Cucumbers, avocados, and hearts of palm and chicken,” Jaco exclaimed. “Hahah yeah, chicken.”
Auslander-Moreno told CBS News Miami that she asks people two questions to help them determine whether they’re eating an ultra-processed food.
“Two rules, so I ask people if their great, great, great grandmother or grandfather would recognize this food as indeed being food and if they could define that for you,” she said. “[And] I would ask them if I give them all the food categories based on the MyPlate recommendations, ‘Where would you put this food? Is it a fruit, is it a vegetable, how would you categorize it?’ and then lastly, tell me where this food grew in the earth, or walked on the earth or swam in the ocean, and if those are really challenging questions to answer, it’s likely a UPF.”
Healthy alternatives and other dietary tricks
Auslander-Moreno shared her suggestions on how to replace common ultra-processed foods in your diet:
Instead of hamburgers with frozen beef patties: Consider a salmon burger, cook it with olive oil and add lots of vegetables.
Instead of sodas, opt for: Sparkling waters. You can also muddle cucumbers and citrus infuse them into sparkling or plain water.
And instead of baked goods: Try baked apples with cinnamon. While technically baked, it’s simply fruit with spice and satisfies that pie craving. You can top it with nuts or plain Greek yogurt.
Experts also said to be cautious of products that seem healthy based solely on their packaging. Learn to read labels closely, and if you see an ingredient you don’t recognize, research it to understand what you’re consuming.
