Trying to Cut Back on Processed Foods? Here's How to Make Smarter Choices!
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The products at the top are less processed than the products at the bottom with a higher “red” rating.
A new website called TrueFood, created by researchers at Mass General Brigham in Boston, helps people choose less processed foods. It ranks grocery items from Whole Foods, Target, and Walmart into four categories: unprocessed, processed culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed. Instead of just labeling foods, TrueFood gives them a score—lower numbers mean less processing. Ultra-processed foods, like chips and sodas, contain added sugars, oils, and artificial ingredients that can harm health, increasing the risk of diseases like diabetes and heart problems. Up to 70% of the food in the U.S. is ultra-processed, making it hard to avoid. These foods are designed to be tasty and attract buyers with fancy packaging and marketing, says Lu Wang, PhD, from Tufts University. The goal of TrueFood is to help consumers make better food choices and reduce their intake of unhealthy processed foods.
