> Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives," according to the study.
But then when they give specific examples it includes burgers and french fries and paragraphs like:
> "In Brazil, ultraprocessed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. We have McDonald's, Burger King and we eat a lot of chocolate and white bread. It's not very different, unfortunately, from many other Western countries," said coauthor Dr. Claudia Suemoto, an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of São Paulo Medical School.
It seems "ultraprocessed" is just a generic label you put on foods you consider bad. McDonald's and Burger King burgers might be crap, but they are probably less processed than artisan whole wheat bread, Red Wine, Tofu or Parmesan Cheese.
EDIT: I originally wrote that I didn't think any of your examples were highly processed (having made them), but after writing it, I think I convinced myself that you are correct on three of them.
Even though tofu is just curds from soy milk (soy beans and water) curdled using a tiny bit of something like lemon juice / nigari [minerals from evaporated sea water], you are losing the fiber just like you do with the white bread / burger buns.
Wine (fruit/flower petals + water + yeast + possible added sugar depending on what is being fermented) also loses the fiber of the fruit in the making.
Cheese is just curds from milk curdled by culturing bacteria with the milk. With sometimes salt added. But, you are losing the vitamins, minerals, fats, sugars and protein in the whey.
Whole wheat bread is the exception. Unless the bread is made with dough conditioner (usually mainly isolated wheat gluten; you get similar effect by kneading for 15 minutes). Whole wheat bread is just whole wheat flour, water and yeast. You are getting all of the grain. With sometimes salt added. And, if using dry yeast, a tiny amount of sugar is sometimes added to the yeast+water to kick start it before adding flour.
The white bread and burger buns are highly processed. And, contain only the starch and gluten from the wheat with bran and germ removed. And, they probably have quite a bit of added sugar too.
You should probably just read the study itself (which will presumably be published in the next issue of the Alzheimer's Association's journal of Alzheimer's & Dementia, going by the conference's website), if you're actually curious about the precise definition and level of scientific rigor used to study "whole foods" and their relation to degenerative neurological disorders.
Is Parmesan cheese ultra processed? or processed just right? What about red wine? Tofu? Coq au Vin?