By Erin O'Neil, LCSW.
The holiday season is one we prepare for with both excitement and a certain amount of dread. There can be so much magic and, simultaneously, so much stress. And, it is not just the pressure of gift-giving. There is social anxiety (there are a lot of parties), grief and sadness, discomfort with family members, and a lot of food. It feels like everywhere we turn there are cookie platters, charcuterie boards, chocolate in varying forms, and candy. But how do the seasonal party foods even compare to the stress levels brought on by financial strain, social anxiety, and grief? Well, it turns out the ultra-processed foods that feel pretty much unavoidable this season may contribute to worsening mental health.
Carlos Monteiro, a professor of Nutrition and Public Health at the University of Sao Paolo in Brazil, developed the NOVA food classification system, which identifies and categorizes foods based on their nature. The four categories are: 1. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods, which include whole foods with their vitamins and minerals still unbroken, 2. Those foods meant to extend food shelf-life (e.g., fats and spices or herbs), 3. Processed foods, which are those that combine categories one and two to create foods comprised of minimal ingredients (e.g., breads), and 4. Ultra-processed foods, which are foods that include a lot of added ingredients. These are the kinds of products with a long list of ingredients that you can’t recognize, spell, or pronounce.
Ultra-processed foods tend to contain increased amounts of sodium, added sugars, preservatives, and artificial colors, and they are very far removed from the whole foods category or foods in their purest forms. A 2019 study estimated that about 70 percent of packaged foods sold in the United States fall into the ultra-processed food category with about 60 percent of our calories coming from ultra-processed foods.
Despite being a dietary staple, ultra-processed foods continue to negatively affect our physical and mental well-being. We are well aware of the physical health toll diets high in ultra-processed foods can have; think, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease, to name a few. Those with gastrointestinal issues ranging from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to Crohn’s and Colitis have an intimate knowledge of the impact of food on physical health and our bodies’ abilities to function.
Current research studies the potential correlation between ultra-processed foods and cognitive decline as we age. Professor Felice Jacka is a Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry, Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, and the founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry. In a 2023 episode of the Zoe Podcast, which focuses on health, Professor Jacka discusses the impact of ultra-processed foods on our hippocampus. This part of the brain is........