<a s author, has since shifted his thinkingabout what drives overeating, moving away from food processing itself as the primary explanation and focusing more on palatability, or how appealing and rewarding food is to eat. That distinction matters because it suggests that the problem may not be processing alone, but the qualities of food that encourage us to keep eating.
A recentrandomized crossover trial published inNature Medicinecompared minimally processed and ultra-processed diets, both of which met national dietary guidelines. People lost weight on both, but those on the minimally processed diet lost roughly two pounds more by the end of the study.
Larger studiesalso link diets high in ultra-processed foods with more cardiometabolic disease and earlier death. Most of that research is observational, and “ultra-processed” covers very different foods, so I don’t want anyone to fear every packaged food or chase a perfect diet. Let minimally processed foods be the usual conversation in my exam room changes. Instead of handing someone a long list of forbidden foods, I ask what we can add. Can we add vegetables to dinner? More protein or fiber at breakfast? One more home-cooked meal each week? Could one highly processed snack become fruit, nuts, yogurt, or something else you truly enjoy?
These changes sound less exciting than a 30-day transformation or a diet that promises to fix inflammation, hormones, and metabolism all at once. But small changes are easier to keep. And this is not all-or-nothing. One meal, one snack, or one hard week doesn’t undo the choices that came before.
Good nutrition advice should survive contact with a person’s actual life. It should also fit the person. Diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, gastrointestinal conditions, food allergies, medications, age, and activity level all change what makes sense. The same recommendation does not belong on every patient’s plate.
Patients deserve nutrition advice that is honest about what we know, what we still don’t, and what can fit into everyday life. For most people, a better place to start than “What food must I never eat again?” is this:
What can I add today that makes the way I eat a little healthier tomorrow?
Irene “Rosie” Muratides
Irene “Rosie” Muratides, DO, is a board-certified internal medicine physician and the founder of Bayshore Rose Concierge Medicine in Tampa.
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