When I see reports about problems with highly processed foods I usually look in vain for a mechanism by which the foods might be unhealthy, and I look for mechanism as an extra line of evidence to back up the statistics that normally form the centrepiece of the report.
I recently watched a video by Lustig (I think dated as six months old) in which he claimed that four classes of substances led the liver to misbehave - alcohol, fructose, branched-chain amino acids (when in excess of what is needed for synthesis), and trans fats. He went on to point out that the last three are usually all present in highly processed foods (or were, before trans fats started being banned).
How far is Lustig off from the standard consensus here? I would find it satisfying to have a rationale for deciding what was healthy and what is not that sounded more scientific than “product of an evil corporation” vs “artisanal local produce” - but if Lustig were to be proved correct beyond all doubt countries should be working a lot harder to change national diets than they currently are (with the exception of banning trans fats) so I deduce that not everything Lustig says draws universal approval.
I think he, and what many others that are outside of “the mainstream dietary consensus” are pointing to with processed food is simply the fact that many of these foods are greatly removed from their unaltered forms.
There is a point where an apple becomes apple sauce which becomes apple juice and then all of the sudden, there’s barely any apple left in that juice. You’re essentially consuming mostly Sugar with your Apple juice concentrate mixed in water. At the end of the day, you were probably just better off eating an apple, or making your own apple juice with the actual juice you got from squeezing a bunch of apples.
The issue is less that “evil corporations are killing us,” and more “corporations are selling sugar water with a hint of apple and essentially marketing it as the apple juice that you get from squeezing apples.” You have to admit that the second thing is kinda messed up, even if the labeling is accurate and says “100% Juice (Not necessarily Apple Juice).”
This is why you should avoid processed foods, and if you are going to consume them, do your research to determine what they are before you eat them.
I think nutrition and how it affects metabolism is sadly under researched and not really taught to medical professionals. I just watched an old video of his that followed along the same lines and stated that we tend to treat the symptoms of metabolic disorders and not the causes. He tied 8 main metabolic disorders to diet. I dunno it just makes sense to me - he’s done the research and his claims are linked to studies that seem legit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdDiarWB_h0
The tag line for his talk was: GOOD FOOD IS MEDICINE - BAD FOOD NEEDS MEDICINE
Most nutritional studies are funded by large food corporations so there is a built in bias
Edit to add thoughts: Good food can be expensive and takes time to prepare - the bar may seem too high for some. If governments are trying to figure out how to feed the masses cheap unhealthy highly processed food will do the trick but you’re absolutely right that there will be consequences.