Ultra-Processed Food

Ultra-processed foods are a hot topic. While they have been discussed for years in nutrition circles, you are now seeing stories about how health-damaging they are in mainstream media.

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First, what are ultra-processed foods? I like to think of them as something you can’t make in your kitchen. Let’s break it down…

• Whole foods are things from nature - fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, etc. They are single-source foods that contain los of health benefits.
• Processed foods can be made from whole foods and can be healthy (like nut butter with nuts and salt) or less-than-healthy (a homemade chocolate chip cookie). If there is any change from the way the food began to the way it ends up on a shelf, it counts as processed.
• Ultra-processed foods (aka Frankenfoods) cannot be made in your kitchen. Ultra-processed foods undergo an industrial process to move from farm to table.  Pringles, Cheetos, mass-produced breads, many sauces are in this category.

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According to some estimates, nearly 60 percent of the daily calories U.S. adults consume are from ultra-processed foods. It’s worse for kids and teenagers, whose diet is almost 70 percent ultra-processed.

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Research has tied ultra-processed food consumption to health conditions such as  obesity, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, cardiovascular disease, and even mild depression and anxiety,

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One study compared people eating an ultra-processed diet to those eating a minimally-processed one. The people in the ultra-processed diet group consumed about 500 calories more per day. As you may know, to gain a pound of fat you need to eat 3500 calories. At 500 extra calories a day, that’s a pound a week.

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The reason it’s so easy to overeat ultra-processed foods is because they are hype-palatable. And this is by design - food companies employ scientists to concoct these so-called foods so you crave and overeat them. The Lay’s tagline rings true: You can’t eat just one.

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Not only do these foods impact your waistline, but they can also hurt your mental health. A Harvard analysis, published in the September 2023 issue of JAMA Network Open, assessed the eating habits and mental health status of more than 21,000 women, ages 42 to 62. None of the participants reported any depression symptoms at the study's start. Those who ate the most ultra-processed food were 50% more likely to develop depression than participants who ate the least.

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The takeaway: most of your diet should be from whole foods. Sure, it can be more effort than having a muffin for breakfast, but it doesn’t have to be hard.

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When shopping, purchase lots of whole foods and when grabbing for something packaged, read the labels. And when I say “read labels,” that means the ingredients, not just the macros. Look out for fillers and additives (if you don’t know what it is or can’t pronounce it, think twice about buying it).

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There is a ton of marketing BS on labels. For instance, you may have noticed that protein is a popular marketing message. That doesn’t make something healthy. Reese’s came out with a protein Reeses cup and it’s the same crap as a normal Reese’s. And organic labels don’t mean it’s healthy. You can find organic gummy bears on the market - it’s still sugar.

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The more you arm yourself with nutrition information, the more likely you are to eat well and experience greater health.