Over the course of her decades in the nutrition field, Nutrition Diva has seen a lot of dietary villains come and go and come again: fat, carbs, meat, sugar. But the villain-of-the-moment is definitely ultra-processed foods. And, by proxy, the food manufacturers who produce them.
She's argued in the past that “processed” is really too broad a brush to apply. We really need to take into consideration what the purpose of the processing is before we demonize a food as being too processed. We also need to think about how a given processed food functions in our diet before we decide whether it can be allowed to stay.
Part of the problem with this whole discussion is that there isn’t a single definition or set of criteria for what constitutes processed food. For better or worse, the NOVA classification seems to be emerging as the most widely used system, especially in nutrition research.
Nutrition Diva has talked in previous episodes about some of the limitations of the NOVA classification. For one thing, it’s difficult even for nutrition professionals to decide what category a food falls into. Secondly, a lot of foods that could be seen as as healthful are considered ultra-processed in the NOVA classification.
And all of this is quite relevant at the moment, because the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are due to be updated again. One of the questions that the scientific advisory committee is going be tackling this time around is the relationship between ultra-processed foods and health—and they specifically seem interested in things like whether or not they contribute to overweight and obesity, as opposed to other sorts of health outcomes.
Joining Nutrition Diva to talk about all of this is Dr. Julie Hess. Dr. Hess is a Research Nutritionist with the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, ND. Her research focuses on how to improve both U.S. dietary guidance and the eating patterns of Americans. Listen to the whole episode here to hear about her controversial new study.
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Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes.
An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide note—Eve's gut says it's a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback—and she will not rest until the case is closed.
