Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs): Eating Yourself Sick

Supermarket Cart Filled with UPFs

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are not “just processed". They are industrial formulations engineered to be cheap, convenient, highly palatable, and shelf-stable at the expense of metabolic health. Here’s a research-based, practical guide to understanding UPFs and how to reducing their negative impact.

What are UPFs according to the classification?

NOVA Classification

Most research uses the NOVA classification, which groups foods by the purpose and extent of processing, not just nutrients. In NOVA, UPFs are Group 4: industrially manufactured products made from combinations of refined ingredients (starches, sugars, oils, protein isolates) plus additives, with little (or no) intact whole food remaining.

Common UPFs include:

• Sugary drinks, energy drinks, flavored yogurts/desserts

• Packaged snacks, candy, cookies, cakes

• All breakfast cereals, protein bars

• Frozen pizzas, ready meals

• Many “diet” products with sweeteners and flavor systems

• Reconstituted meat products, including "meat-like" veggie options

A practical rule: if the ingredient list is longer than 5 ingredients and/or reads like a chemistry set (emulsifiers, flavors, colors, “modified” starches, isolates, stablisers, Es), it’s a UPF.

Why & how food companies make them

Packed Cookies Last Forever

UPFs solve 4 big business problems:

1. Profit & scalability - Refined inputs (starches, sugars, oils) are cheap, consistent, and easy to ship globally.

2. Hyper-palatability (“can’t stop” factor) - companies engineer the “bliss point” (sweet-salt-fat combo), texture (crunch/cream), and aroma (flavor systems) to drive repeat eating beyond hunger.

3. Shelf stability & convenience - Industrial processing (extrusion, molding, pre-frying) and packaging keep products stable for weeks/months.

4. Branding and health halos - frequently marketed with front-label claims (“high protein", “whole grain", "plant-based", "low fat”), even when overall product remains an ultra-processed formulation.

   
   

How much do people eat today?

The exact number depends on the country, but in several high-income nations UPFs make up half (or more) of daily intake, and children/teens usually eat more than adults. Some examples:

• United States: All ages: 58%, Youth: 62%

• United Kingdom: 57% of adult energy

• Austrlia: 40%

  
  

What UPF ingredients and design can do in the body?

Althought not every additive is “proven harmful” on its own in humans, and many findings come from a mix of studies, the following consistent biological themes keep showing up:

1. UPFs drive overeating even when nutrients look “matched”

A landmark RCT showed that when people were fed an UPF diet versus an unprocessed diet (matched for calories offered, macros, sugar, sodium, fiber, and energy density), they ate significantly more calories and gained signficant weight on UPF.

2. The “food matrix” matters (acellular carbs, refined starches, liquid calories)

UPFs deliver carbohydrates in a form that is rapidly accessible (finely milled starches, sugars, sweetened beverages). This increases post-meal glucose and insulin demand, reduces satiety compared with intact whole foods and promotes easier overconsumption

3. Additives and gut signaling (a plausible pathway)

Some emulsifiers/sweeteners/additives were studied for their effects on the microbiome, gut barrier, and inflammation pathways. Many industrial formulations shift gut-brain and gut-metabolic signaling over time, decrease microbial diversity, lower levels of beneficial bacteria and increase in pro-inflammatory microorganisms population.

4. Packaging and processing contaminants (the “invisible ingredients”)

UPFs are often heavily packaged and processed at scale, which increases exposure to certain packaging-related chemicals and processing byproducts.

UPFs & metabolic health

Across large populations, higher UPF intake is repeatedly associated with worse cardiometabolic outcomes and higher risks across multiple chronic disease outcomes.

Type 2 diabetes / insulin resistance

Higher UPF intake is associated with higher risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in multiple cohort analyses and reviews. Controlled feeding evidence also supports a rapid metabolic downside in some modern trials comparing high-UPF vs minimally processed patterns in real-world conditions.

Hypertension

UPFs cluster with higher sodium, lower potassium/fiber, and higher energy density - patterns linked with higher blood pressure risk.

Visceral fat / abdominal obesity

Several studies link higher UPF intake with abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome markers. Increase was as a high as 30%!

What can you do for your health?

Because UPFs are designed to be over-consumed, it's not easy.

Here are 5 steps that will lead you on a path to reducing UPF addiction and improve your health.

Step 1: Replace, don’t just remove - Pick 2–3 “high-frequency” UPFs to swap first, usually: breakfast items, snacks, sweet drinks.

Step 2: Build meals around minimally processed anchors - Aim for each meal to include:

• A protein (eggs, fish, yogurt, legumes, poultry, tofu)

• A fiber anchor (vegetables, legumes, whole grains)

• A healthy fat (olive oil, tahini, avocado, nuts)

Step 3: Use the “ingredient list test” - Choose products with:

• Short ingredient lists

• Ingredients you’d actually cook with (grow on trees or on the ground)

• No need for “flavor systems” to taste like food

Step 4: Make the environment do the work

• Keep UPFs out of sight / not in the house

• Pre-prepare real snacks (nuts, chopped veg, fruit, hummus)

• Batch cook one protein + one legume/whole grain weekly

Step 5: Give your metabolism 2–4 weeks - Many markers of cravings, appetite control, sugar swings, blood pressure responsiveness can improve quickly when UPFs drop and fiber/protein rise—especially when sleep and walking improve in parallel.

Selected References:

• CDC/NCHS Data Brief 536 (Aug 2025): Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults

• Monteiro et al., FAO (2019): Ultra-processed foods, diet quality and health (NOVA).

• Monteiro et al. Ultra-processed foods and human health: main thesis and evidence The Lancet, 406:2667 - 2684

• Lu, W et al. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Abdominal Obesity in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Shanghai. Foods 2025, 14, 3955. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14223955

• Hall KD et al. (2019) Cell Metabolism: randomized inpatient trial showing higher intake/weight gain on UPF diet.

• Dai S. et al. (2024) umbrella review: UPF intake associated with multiple adverse health outcomes.

• Rondinella, D et al. The Detrimental Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods on the Human Gut Microbiome and Gut Barrier. Nutrients 2025, 17, 859. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050859