What ups diabetes risk? Processed foods like instant noodles, energy bars and drinks harm your body

Doc, when I travel abroad, I take a lot of pre-packaged Indian food with me. Is that good?” “My son takes packaged noodles for each meal. Will it harm his growth and health?” Such questions from my patients are increasing daily, and so is the consumption of processed foods. Currently, up to 30 per cent of the populations in low-middle income countries are consuming them. In India, consumption of processed foods has doubled since 2012.
What are processed and ultra-processed foods?
Any food that is altered in some physical or chemical way (mostly industrial) is termed as processed food. When five or more industrial formulations are added using sophisticated industrial equipment, it is called ultra-processed food. After cleaning, freezing, parboiling, and frying, several ingredients are added, which is the most harmful step for health. Some of these ingredients include whey protein, gluten, casein, lactose, hydrogenated oils, hydrolysed proteins, soy protein isolate, maltodextrin, invert sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Then these foods, in attractive packages, are ready for all convenience stores and super bazaars. Processing of various foods increases their taste and shelf life.

Common examples of processed foods include breakfast cereals, canned products, instant soups, instant meals/noodles, flavoured potato chips, flavoured candy bars, energy bars, table sauces, reconstituted meats (eg, sausages) and so on. Some examples of ultra-processed foods available and consumed in India include packaged baby cereals, packaged fruit juices, sweetened carbonated beverages, energy drinks, sweet Indian packaged snacks, ‘health’ drinks, most biscuits and prepared pastas or pizzas. The only “good” part is that these foods taste good and many people are addicted to them.

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https://indianexpress.com/article/health-wellness/processed-foods-instant-noodles-energy-bars-drinks-harm-body-cause-diabetes-8417013/