The Sneaky Ultra-Processed Foods You Might Not Realize Are Ultra-Processed

The more sophisticated our food manufacturing becomes, the farther away we’re getting from having a diet of, well, food. Think about your favorite cheesy puffs or a hot dog — can you easily list all the ingredients in either one?

Recently there have been some alarmingstudies linking ultra-processed foods with increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal diseases, depression and early death. And if you’re someone who limits your consumption of what’s usually referred to as “junk food,” there are still many foods you might be eating frequently which fall in the ultra-processed category.

Sarah Herrington, a nutritionist at Brio-Medical Cancer Center, said ultra-processed foods affect every part of the body in negative ways. Noting that they’re “generally devoid of nutrients that catalyze the synthesis of neurotransmitters that promote our sense of well-being,” she also discussed how they affect our microbiome. “Both gut inflammation and diversity of microbes may be negatively impacted by the intake of ultra-processed foods,” she said. “And they tend to be high on the glycemic index, leading to fluctuations in blood glucose that can further promote feelings of anxiety.”

Noting that ultra-processed foods make up as much as 80% of the standard American diet, Dr.Jennie Stanford, an obesity medicine physician, said, “These ingredients cause inflammatory reactions within the body, which dysregulate metabolism, disrupt fat tissue and disturb neuroendocrine hormone balance.”

How Foods Become Ultra-processed

According to theCenter for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods, derived