How unhealthy are convenience foods and microwave meals really?

What are convenience foods?

With today's pace of life, everyone’s looking for “convenience”. Convenience foods are ready-made products that are ready to cook and eat immediately. Ready to eat means that the ingredients have already been cooked, seasoned or peeled. So what types of convenience products are on the market?

• Chilled food: ready-made meals from the chiller cabinet
• Pizzas, vegetable dishes, ready-made meals: frozen food from the freezer
• Ready-made meals in plastic or aluminium trays, preserved food from cans or jars
• Freshly cut products and food-to-go: examples include sandwiches, wraps, ready-made salads, fruit and vegetable snacks
  

5 different processing stages

Convenience products are divided into five different processing stages. The higher the stage, the less work for the consumer:

1. Kitchen ready: includes cleaned vegetables or cut meat
2. Ready to cook: includes frozen vegetables or seasoned meat
3. Ready to complete: such as instant soups or sauces
4. Ready to regenerate: microwave meals that only need to be heated
5. Ready to eat: includes freshly cut products and food-to-go
   

Convenience foods: pros and cons

It’s because they’re so quick, convenient and easy to prepare that ready-made products enjoy such popularity. And while it’s undisputed that pre-prepared food offers many advantages, we should also be aware of the disadvantages hidden in these products. Here are some of the pros and cons of convenience products:

Advantages

• Great time-savers
• Simple preparation
• Pre-portioned dishes
• Longer shelf life
• Less washing up
  

Disadvantages

• Packaging waste
• Loss of nutrients through processing
• Expensive to buy
• High in salt and preservatives
  

Ready-made products: health consequences

There are different types of convenience foods that vary in their processing stages. But are all ready-made meals unhealthy, or what health risks do they harbour?

Studies show that, because of the additives they contain, many highly processed foods can not only lead to weight gain but also to disease. This is because they change the composition of our gut flora, promote inflammation or contribute to metabolic acidosis.

Harmful additives

Artificial additives are often added to highly processed foods to enhance flavour, increase shelf life or improve the appearance of dishes. The more additives microwave meals or other convenience products contain, the more diseases they’re likely to cause.

How harmful are ready-made products?

Studies have shown that convenience products increase the risk of inflammation and weaken the immune system. People who regularly consume convenience foods tend to display a lower nutrient intake and a higher calorie intake. This can lead to a variety of health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease. In addition, highly pro­cessed foods cause tiredness, are energy-draining and impair concentration.

Convenience foods: calories, nutritional values and ingredients

In order to improve flavour and shelf life, convenience food products are often high in fat and sugar and therefore high in calories too. Compared to fresh, unprocessed foods, highly processed foods often contain fewer nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fibre. This is confirmed by Antje Gahl, speaking for the German Nutrition Society: “During processing, vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances can be lost.” In addition, various additives and preservatives are used, which makes convenience foods unhealthy.

Which convenience products are healthy?

Not all convenience products are unhealthy and some can even be said to be healthy. Healthy convenience products can form part of a balanced diet. The following convenience products are healthy and therefore recommended:

• Frozen vegetables
• Ready-made salads
• Healthy frozen dishes with fruit, vegetables, fish or meat
• Ready-made soups
• Pre-cooked wholegrain products
  

Sources

• Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (in german)
• Verbraucherzentrale (in german)
• Monteiro, C. A., et al. (2018). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort. BMJ, 360, k322.
• Louzada, M. L. da C., et al. (2015). Ultra-processed foods and the nutritional dietary profile in Brazil. Public Health Nutrition, 18(3), 499-507.