Nutrition Diva got a question from a listener about processed foods this week: “Virtually everyone says to cut down on processed foods. It’s one of the few things everyone from different camps generally agrees on. Yet a large number of nutrition influencers recommend smoothies that include protein powder. How the heck are those not processed?”

Nutrition Diva's answer? Catherine is right: There’s a lot of talk these days about the harms of ultra-processed foods. But this designation turns out to be problematic. Some of the foods in this category are exactly the ones you might expect—things like Red Bull, Cheetos, and Pop-Tarts. But the category also includes foods that we generally think of as healthy (or, maybe, healthier) choices, such as almond milk, soy burgers, cholesterol-reducing spreads like Benecol, high-fiber breakfast cereal, baby formula and, yes, protein powder. 

Rather than painting all processed foods with the same brush, it’s worth considering what the purpose of the processing is. Is it to concentrate the sugar, increase the intensity of the flavor, or otherwise create a product that hyper-stimulates the reward centers of the brain? Is it to increase the profit margin of a cheap ingredient?

Or does it serve to extend shelf life, increase the nutritional value of a food, improve its digestibility, or make a nutritious food safer or more convenient to prepare? Obviously, the processing required to turn peas or whey into protein powder serves a different purpose than the processing required to turn an ear of corn into a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. 

We need to consider what role or function that processed food plays in our diets. A Pop-Tart, for example, is at best a source of empty calories. At worst, it could be displacing a healthier breakfast choice. Protein powder, on the other hand, can really only be used to increase the protein content of other foods. In that case, the benefit may well justify the use of an ultra-processed ingredient like protein powder.

Listen to the full episode of Nutrition Diva here or read a transcript here. This week, she's tackling processed foods like protein powder, the health effects of soy, and whether it matters if protein is denatured before you eat it.

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