According to data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, consumption of ultra-processed foods has dramatically increased in recent decades. In 2018, American kids from age 2 to 19 got nearly 70% of their calories from ultra-processed foods.
Since the 1950s with the invention of the freezer meal, food manufacturers have produced ultra-processed foods at higher and higher rates, since they’re cheaper to make and last longer on shelves.
Harvard Health explained, “Ultra-processed foods are mostly made of substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars and hydrogenated fats.”
It added, “They may also contain additives like artificial colors and flavors or stabilizers.”
What is considered an ultra-processed food?
Preventive cardiologist at the Gaples Institute Stephen Devries described ultra-processed foods as “industrial creations made with little — if any — whole foods that contain large amounts of added sugar and salt,” to the American Medical Association. These foods are usually infused with additives and artificial colors.
Neha Sachdev, the AMA director of health systems relationships, added to Devries’ definition, saying ultra-processed foods “are altered from their natural forms,” not to make them better for the consumer’s body, but to make them have a longer shelf life.
“Compare a carton of eggs that you purchase with a frozen egg patty. Even though both of these items contain eggs, these are very different foods that have gone through very different journeys to get to the store shelf,” she told AMA.
On the extreme end of the ultra-processed food spectrum, Twinkies show how food manufacturers replicate whole ingredients with chemicals on a large scale.
Twinkies, which are yellow cake with cream filling, are typically made from flour, sugar, eggs, milk and butter.
How Stuff Works reported on the Twinkie’s artificial replacements and how they work in the product. Replacing the eggs, monoglycerides and diglycerides “stop water and oil from separating,” which makes the product’s shelf life longer, improves its texture and stabilizes its ingredients, per Medical News Today.
Polysorbate 60 and cellulose gum replace fat in the filling, hydrogenated shortening replaces butter and artificial flavorings attempt to replicate the natural flavors present in the original dessert. Finally, manufacturers add sorbic acid to prevent the formation of mold.
Other ultra-processed foods, including mass-produced bread, breakfast cereal, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish nuggets, instant soup, sweetened yogurt, prepackaged snacks and ready-to-eat food, see similar production in factories.
To see more examples of ultra-processed foods, Healthline published a table of ultra-processed, processed and simple “home version” food alternatives.
How damaging is ultra-processed food?
When food manufacturing companies alter their products, the result is food with more calories and fewer nutrients.
The British Medical Journal compared the actual nutritional content of ultra-processed foods with natural foods. In the study, ultra-processed foods’ sugar content was eight times higher than processed food. They also reported that a fifth of the calories (21.1%) came from sugar in ultra-processed foods.
Increased sugar intake presents a whole host of other issues. Excessive ultra-processed food consumption leads to “overfed and undernourished individuals,” the Journal study explained.
Risks resulting from high added sugar intake include Type 2 diabetes, excess body weight and obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, hypertension, cancer and dental caries, according to the British Medical Journal.
Another study by Harvard Health referenced an National Institute of Health article discussing a 5-year study done on over 100,000 adults in France. Researchers associated consumption of ultra-processed food specifically with increased risk of heart disease. Harvard Health commented that the results remain significant “even after the researchers adjusted for the nutritional quality of the diet.”
Several studies link ultra-processed foods with overeating
Ultra-processed foods may also lead to overeating and metabolic disorders, according to Anna Gramza Michalowska, a gastronomy science professor at Poznań University of Technology in Poland.
In research published to the National Institute of Health, she referenced similar research by other scientists, writing, “The method of food preparation and processing, apart from contributing to energy density or palatability, may also affect physiology, promote overeating and thus results in metabolic disorders.”
A similar study published to Cell Metabolism conducted a small-scale experiment on 10 men and 10 women. Researchers provided five participants with ultra-processed meals and the other five with unprocessed meals with the same calories. Participants could eat however much of the meals they wanted.
Dr. Kevin Hall, the study’s lead author, told the NIH, “Though we examined a small group, results from this tightly controlled experiment showed a clear and consistent difference between the two diets.”
Participants assigned to the ultra-processed diet ate 500 more calories daily than those assigned to the unprocessed diet. Further, the first group gained roughly 2 pounds through the experiment, and the second group lost 2 pounds.
“This is the first study to demonstrate causality — that ultra-processed foods cause people to eat too many calories and gain weight,” Hall commented.
How do I get rid of ultra-processed foods in my diet?
Dietitian Sarah Hutchinson told Henry Ford Health, “A good rule of thumb for most people is to consume foods that are as close to the source as much as possible.”
She also recommended looking at ingredient lists before you buy a product at the store. “If we turn over that packaging, and the ingredients list is a mile long, then it’s likely to be an ultra-processed food,” she said.
Licensed nutritionist Candace Nelson suggests making little swaps to the diet you’ve already established.
Instead of eating sweetened yogurt in the morning, opt for an egg or two. Since eggs are “considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids (building blocks of protein),” they’re better at keeping you full than more deconstructed alternatives with additives.