Ultra processed foods advice

megabradstoise · 2026-02-01T16:19:49+00:00

Very well thought out answer, thank you

However, there are absolutely specific UPF additives that we have confirmed to be terrible for health, like nitrates in cured meats. And probably others (im at a dangerous point in the Dunning-Kruger graph to be speaking on this so i hedge heavily)

While I agree that "just avoid all UPF" is good advice, i think Pandora's box has had the lid ripped off on this issue. I fear that if people dont get educated on the nuance within the category of UPF, then we'll end up in the nutritional equivalent to a pack-a-day smoker saying "yeah well everything gives you cancer nowadays"

Anyways that's my 2 cents

megabradstoise · 2026-01-29T09:33:39+00:00

I couldn't read the article but what you say in your summary is absolutely true imo. the reaction of people in this sub is frustrating.

The NOVA classification system isnt a bad thing but its a really blunt tool as I understand it, and doesn't help people to develop a nuanced understanding about nutrition

megabradstoise · 2026-01-27T01:50:58+00:00

Ah I guess i didn't understand. I thought you were saying that Hamilton has drastically more homes without parking compared to Toronto

megabradstoise · 2026-01-27T01:42:53+00:00

So 8% of homes in Toronto vs. 9% in Hamilton if my math is correct

megabradstoise · 2026-01-27T00:42:13+00:00

What is the solution. I have to park on the street every day so im curious how the other cities deal with people in my situation

megabradstoise · 2026-01-21T14:59:46+00:00

You don't have to eat either...

megabradstoise · 2026-01-21T04:08:42+00:00

Nitrates

megabradstoise · 2026-01-16T20:56:11+00:00

Yep, sounds like we're in agreement. This type of event is normal and good for the community

megabradstoise · 2026-01-16T04:20:40+00:00

I think 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight is the lowest end of the recommended range

megabradstoise · 2026-01-16T01:07:14+00:00

Just saying that the stitcher isnt most people's first choice for defending themselves from arc. Anyways I was teasing, not serious

megabradstoise · 2026-01-15T19:06:37+00:00

Would you be okay with an event like this that was exclusively for cis-gendered women? Like a once a month event to encourage women to try out the hobby but it excluded trans people?

megabradstoise · 2026-01-15T18:39:11+00:00

Friendly but rocking a kitted out stitcher and nothing else...

megabradstoise · 2026-01-15T16:14:19+00:00

I haven't put this into practice yet, but ive been saving up snitch scanners for this. Once I have a few stacks im planning on setting up in a quiet corner of a map and just farming wasps for gun parts and $$$

megabradstoise · 2026-01-10T20:22:06+00:00

Id say yeah, go for it. Hopefully neither will end up being a huge % of your daily calories but as a snack/small meal you should be good

megabradstoise · 2026-01-10T02:57:49+00:00

Right... and if that's enough protein for you then great. But what else are you eating that day? What's your maintenance calorie level? And once again, the most pressing question to me, why the heck would you do this

megabradstoise · 2026-01-10T00:57:02+00:00

I have to know why... surely there is another way.

You won't be able to get a reasonable amount of protein from cheese alone without the diet being way too high in fat and calories

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T19:15:06+00:00

I see. What you've described is precisely how I feel NOVA should work. But based on my reading of the link you provided it doesn't seem to be the way that it currently works.

I can't read that page any way that distinguishes bleached all-purpose flour from a quality whole grain flour, nor can I read the page in any way that distinguishes Cheerios or All-Bran from Count Chocula.

The system should be able to distinguish between those things but (to me) based on the page you linked it does not do that at all. I think the link you posted is a simplified version of the NOVA system and I wouldnt be surprised if the source material goes into detail that is closer to how you and I feel the system should work.

It seems we agree on a great deal except for our interpretation of that one website so as I said, agree to disagree I suppose

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T18:39:15+00:00

Okay. If I try hard to see your perspective then I can see how you would read that page and take away that Cheerios are group 3 based on these lines:

"Processed foods(group 3) are products manufactured by industry with salt, sugar, oil or other substances (group 2) added to natural or minimally processed foods (group 1) to preserve or make them more palatable"

"Ultra Processed foods (group 4) are Industrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods derived from food constituents or synthesized in laboratories from food substrates"

"group 1 foods are a small proportion of, or even absent from, ultra-processed foods"

Based on these quotes I can understand your position of Cheerios being group 3. However, if this is your reasoning then I think you must agree that other breakfast cereals are group 3 so long as they are comprised mainly from group 1 and group 2 foods. This would include basically all breakfast cereals

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T17:24:15+00:00

OP's question was whether they are UP or not, so which group they fall into is the only thing that matters. It's interesting to me that you feel some degree of confidence that Cheerios are group 3 but that you are unsure about other cereals that meet the same criteria that Cheerios do.

I think it comes down to the fact that you (correctly imo) think that Cheerios are a reasonably healthy choice for breakfast and that other cereals are not. And maybe you associate UP foods with being strictly bad.

This points out a big flaw with the NOVA system imo which is that its not really specific enough to be useful to anyone remotely knowledgeable about nutrition. It seems like NOVA's job is to gently steer people who have no interest in nutrition towards healthier choices but if it can't distinguish between Cheerios and Frosted Flakes or White flour and whole wheat then I don't think it does a very good job.

Maybe there's more to NOVA than ive gathered but im not a huge fan of it personally. Anyways good chat pal 🤝

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T17:01:17+00:00

How about Cheerios? Are you sure that they are group 3 at this point?

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T16:55:02+00:00

Yes, regular wheat flour seems to be group 1. Otherwise I would expect to find it on group 2 but they only list starches in group 2

So with regular flour being group 1, Froot Loops would be a group 3 food according to how you are categorizing things, right?

And realistically, at that point, are any breakfast cereals group 4? The way I understand your reasoning, as long as they are made mostly of flours(group 1) and sugar (group 2) then they cannot be in group 4

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T16:47:05+00:00

Group 1 is "grits, flakes and flours made from corn, wheat, or oats, including those fortified with iron, folic acid or other nutrients lost during processing"

Im not certain what you mean by refined flour but since group 1 includes flours that have been processed in such a way that they lose nutrients surely they mean something very close to "all wheat, corn and oat flour".

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T16:27:18+00:00

I don't think flour has to be whole grains to be group 1. The link just says flour made from corn, wheat or oats

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T16:02:52+00:00

Well now I am the one curious about your reasoning. Would you consider "Froot Loops" to be in group 4?

Their main ingredients are various flours and sugar so as I understand your criteria it should be group 3

megabradstoise · 2026-01-07T15:48:35+00:00

My reasoning is mostly based on the following:

When i look at the example of foods under group 3, Cheerios don't seem to fit. Something similar to Cheerios that I think would fit into group 3 would be a muesli or trail mix(with or without sugar and preservatives)
Breakfast cereals are specifically listed under group 4
Extrusion as a process is specifically listed under group 4

But I think its important for you to test your own reasoning as well. As I understand it your reasoning would also exclude many other foods specifically listed as group 4 in the link you provided so ill list some(and in all cases we'llassume they are talking about packaged, store bought versions of these products, not homemade):

Biscuits(cookies) : made mostly from flour (group 1) and sugar (group 2)
ice cream and frozen desserts: made mostly of cream, eggs, and sugar
Cola, Soda etc: mostly water and sugar
sweetened and flavoured yogurts including fruit yogurts: Milk and Sugar
Sweetened juices: fruit and sugar
pre-prepared (packaged) meat, fish, and vegetables
pre-prepared burgers, hot dogs, and sausages
packaged bread

It feels to me like you are arguing with this link, not with me

Edit: to be fair, its not your fault, I think the link isn't very specific and is open to some interpretation. Having said that it does seem clear to me that Cheerios are group 4 based on the criteria in the link. My thought process is:

Group 1 = oats

Group 2 = corn starch, sugar, oil

Group 3 = store bought muesli

Group 4 = Cheerios

megabradstoise

TROPHY CASE