How to Maintain Health, Avoid Processed Foods Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

Illustration of cup packaging instant noodles. (Unsplash / Charlesdeluvio)

SuaraJawaTengah.id – Pandemic Covid-19 make us do more activities at home. However, healthy food must be maintained.

To stay healthy, what foods are good for consumption? Avoid processed food if you don’t want obesity to occur during a pandemic.

Processed foods are included in the ultra-processed category, such as beverages and packaged snacks that contain preservatives, sweeteners, artificial coloring, flavors and generally contain high sugar and salt which can be bad for health.

In Brazil, for example, the obesity rate increased from 7.5 percent in 2002 to 17.5 percent in 2013 due to the people’s diet there which is high in processed foods, according to Prof. Carlos Monteiro and a team from the University of SAO Paulo.

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Not only obesity, processed foods are also associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, despite the fact that people buy products that contain less sugar and oil.

A study involving nearly 20,000 adults, as quoted by Medical News Today found that consumption of more than four servings of processed food every day is associated with an increased risk of all causes of death (due to disease).

Actually what is processed food?

Referring to a document published by the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), which is a partner of the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (AIMI) in the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), processed products are processed by preserving, salting, acidifying or fermentation to increase endurance.

Some examples of these foods include pickles, shrimp paste, fruit and vegetable chips, alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine which are classified as group three under the NOVA classification.

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Furthermore, when food products are processed through carbonation, compaction, shuffling, mass addition, filtration, reduction of foam formation and so on, making it fall into category four or ultra processed foods.

Generally in this product there are five or more ingredients and additives that have never been used in household kitchens such as stabilizers, preservatives, maltodextrin, protein hydrosylate or non-sugar dyes and sweeteners.

Nia said, it is easy to know that ultra-processed foods are usually packaged, can be consumed anytime and anywhere and promoted through advertisements.

“The most important feature is usually this food which contains about five or more ingredients. Usually when we cook three or four ingredients,” he said.

Some examples of ultra-processed products that refer to the age category of the consumers include: formula milk or powdered milk (which can be given to children aged 0-6 months); instant cereal, chocolate, ice cream and biscuits (generally given to children aged 6 months-3 years); instant noodles, energy drinks and soft drinks, bread and (commonly given to children aged 3-8 years) as well as burgers, pizza and so on for those over 8 years.

One large study involving more than 100,000 adults found that eating 10 percent more ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disorders by over 10 percent.

The researchers reached this conclusion after accounting for saturated fat, sodium, sugar and fiber intake in the food products.

So, what can you do to reduce your consumption of processed food products?

“Make group one as a daily staple food, starting from babies, children and all family members. Newborns should be treated to join early breastfeeding initiation (IMD) so that they do not need to receive ultra-processed powdered milk food,” said the Chairman. AIMI, Nia Umar in the online “Launching of Ultra-Processed Food Hazard Documents” via online, Friday.

Food is included in group one, which is neither processed nor minimally processed, among others: edible plant parts such as grains, fruits, derived from animals that are consumed by boiling, cooling, roasting, roasting, pounding, frying and others.

In Indonesia, food is included in this group, for example nasi liwet, yellow rice, nasi uduk, various soups, soto, various steamed dishes and others that do not go through industrial processes.

Another suggestion is to use group two foods, namely those produced from group one or from processed natural ingredients such as salt, sugar, oil, powdered spices in small amounts.

You are also advised to limit consumption of processed foods such as beer, fruit dissolved in a syrup solution, vegetables preserved in brine or pickles.

In addition, you need to avoid foods that go through ultra-processed stages, for example by carbonation, compaction, shaking and others.

While specifically for foods that have gone through the ultra-processed stage, you should avoid them. Although according to Nia, currently the promotion of this category of food is getting more massive, so many people don’t know how to cook food.

“Ultra-processed food should not be (consumed) because it has a negative effect on our health and our planet. Get to know ultra-processed food, don’t buy it and be careful with promotions,” said Nia.

Researcher from Helen Keller Indonesia (HKI) dr. Dian Nurcahyati Hadihardjono suggests that you get used to reading product packaging labels to find out what they contain.

“Just from the sugar content of ultra-processed food, imagine that one product, the sugar content we consume has passed a healthy limit, but we still eat others, for example ice cream, milk,” he said.

AMONG

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