Re-engineering ultra-processed foods can feed the gut, protect the liver and support the brain, study flags

03 Apr 2023 --- Ultra-processed foods can be much healthier with a little re-engineering, according to an international team of researchers who recently evaluated the entire commercial F&B portfolio of the Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company (KDD) – comprising some 180 items.

Together with KDD, the authors researched and reimagined their entire portfolio to develop nourishing, delicious, affordable and commercially viable food and beverages that support metabolic health and well-being. 

These recommendations helped KDD to decide whether to keep, re-engineer or discontinue a product. The company could also identify “easy win” products that only require minimal modifications to improve their shortcomings. 

The authors note that their goal is to make ultra-processed foods healthier and to “urge other food companies to implement similar analysis and reformulation of their product lines to improve the metabolic health and well-being of consumers worldwide.”

Research has warned that ultra-processed foods are as addictive as tobacco, mainly due to unnaturally high refined carbohydrates and fat doses. 

The Metabolic Matrix categorizes each product and provides criteria and recommendations to improve or reformulate them. Metabolic health 
The study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, focused on three health principles – protecting the liver, feeding the gut and supporting the brain. These organs significantly impact overall metabolism and disease.

For each organ, they identified vital strategies to improve health. 

To feed the gut, higher quality soluble and insoluble fiber is critical. Other features include reducing processed carbohydrates, and incorporating more whole and intact food, providing prebiotic nourishment such as dietary fiber and including probiotic nutrition to serve gut microbiota. 

The liver can be protected by reducing fructose, total sugar intake, environmental toxins and glycemic load. Appropriate hydration is also essential. 

To support the brain, the authors focused on nutrient-dense foods with healthy and brain-essential fats, healthy proteins and nutrients that help govern neurotransmitter function. 

Brain metabolism has been linked to boosting motivational performance. 

Recent research has shown that a personalized diet based on a person’s metabolic profile improves cardiometabolic health, a significant underlying condition linked to obesity. 

Focus on sugar reduction  
Across KDD’s portfolio, the researchers identified four critical areas of focus – sugar, fiber, omega 3 fatty acids and emulsifiers or stabilizers. 

The company has already re-engineered chocolate milk and ice cream by reducing sugar and removing all added sugars. However, many new types of ingredients are needed to re-engineer all products for optimal metabolic effects. 

Sugar reduction was an essential goal in re-engineering foods. The team decided to limit sugar content to one teaspoon per serving to maintain taste while limiting the negative impact on metabolic health. KDD now plans to develop a range of no-added sugar products. 

Sugar, fiber, omega 3 fatty acids and emulsifiers or stabilizers were identified as critical areas of focus.Limiting the sugar content in juice was challenging for the company. Solutions offered include diluting or replacing juice with water, adding other ingredients such as juice flavors, oils, essences or sweeteners. Other functional inclusions such as herbs, flowers, spices, vitamins, minerals, probiotics and prebiotics (fiber) can also give additional health benefits. 

Food products evaluation and recommendations 
The authors analyzed the products’ macronutrients, micronutrients, additives and toxins to determine their exact ingredient composition and their health impacts. They developed a Metabolic Matrix that categorizes each product and provides criteria, metrics and recommendations for improvement or reformulation. 

To judge the products, the authors used a three-tier system. Tier III included products with harmful criteria, Tier II compensated for some deficiencies and Tier I products held additional benefits. KDD adjusted the classification to have 38 criteria to assess outcomes. 

Eurofins analyzed all products and ingredients, including macronutrients, vitamins, micronutrients and heavy metals. 

The resulting data were entered into a database and analyzed by the Perfact food data analysis system. This system permits complex filtering based on specific criteria. It provides focused and actionable recommendations to describe metabolic health and environmental impacts and how to reach the next highest tier.

The authors argue that current systems that evaluate processed foods and their impact on health are limited. These focus on macro and micronutrients instead of health outcomes, have limited effects on changing consumer behavior and offer little guidance to manufacturers to create healthy products. 

The authors warn that nutrition labels are insufficient to get a complete picture of a food’s qualities. Moreover, while reference quantities of 100 g are useful in nutrition labels, serving sizes are more relevant to evaluate a food’s impact. 

Ultra-processed foods contain chemicals that alter energy balance and promote a degree of fattiness greater than its caloric equivalence.Inflammation, insulin resistance and chronic metabolic disease 
Ultra-processed foods contain obesogens, which have been implicated as a primary cause of obesity and chronic disease. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals alter energy balance by binding to cellular receptors to promote a degree of fattiness greater than its caloric equivalence. 

Several components in ultra-processed foods qualify as metabolic toxins. Fructose inhibits mitochondrial enzymes leading to mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, fructose drives liver fat accumulation and insulin resistance. 

Essential branched-chain amino acids (BCAA’s) leucine, isoleucine and valine contribute to fatty liver disease. These are higher in processed food staples, such as corn-fed beef, chicken and fish. 

Despite their lack of calories, diet sweeteners increase insulin secretion and have been shown to correlate with all-cause mortality. At the same time, inadequate fiber intake is associated with reduced insulin sensitivity and mortality. 

The authors underscore that a lack of fiber is also associated with microbiome changes consistent with altered metabolic health. They further reveal that commercial emulsifiers are related to intestinal inflammation and that some non-nutritive sweeteners have been shown to consistently change the human microbiome, resulting in glucose intolerance. 

Further research needed 
Though ultra-processed foods are relatively cheap to produce, the authors note that their negative metabolic impact costs are externalized to health care and public health budgets. 

High costs of non-nutritive sweeteners are a significant challenge as these can cost seven to ten times more than sucrose and high fructose corn syrup. New types of processing that maximize metabolic health effects may also require significant capital investment. 

The authors conclude that more research is needed on dietary fibers, supply chain and economic modeling to demonstrate cost-effectiveness or environmental sustainability at an industrial level. 

Moreover, an analysis is needed to demonstrate the health and healthcare benefits of re-engineering ultra-processed foods. 

By Jolanda van Hal