Many people are now aware that a diet high in ultraprocessed foods can be detrimental to our health. These foods have been associated with various health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, cognitive decline, and even an increased risk of early mortality.
Ultraprocessed foods, as defined by the NOVA Food Classification system, consist of products that contain ingredients you wouldn’t typically find in your kitchen—things like specific nutrients, flavor enhancers, colors, additives, and stabilizers. They often undergo industrial manufacturing processes (like extrusion and molding) that aren’t accessible to home cooks.
However, anyone who has enjoyed a bag of cheese puffs, microwaved a frozen pizza for dinner, added cookies to their child’s lunch, or sipped on a soda knows that these foods are often delicious and convenient. They’re usually cheaper than cooking from scratch and are engineered to be hard to resist. In fact, ultraprocessed foods make up about 70% of the US food supply.
Still, we have many unanswered questions: Are all ultraprocessed foods harmful? What exactly makes them unhealthy? Researchers are exploring whether certain chemicals, additives, and flavorings might pose risks. Could these ingredients interact with our microbiome or immune system, leading to health issues we don’t yet understand? Additionally, do ultraprocessed foods contribute to weight gain, subsequently increasing the likelihood of obesity-related conditions like diabetes and heart disease?
Experts like Dr. Kevin Hall, who leads a team at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (part of the National Institutes of Health), are focused on uncovering these mysteries. In a significant study from 2019, Hall and his team revealed that individuals on an ultraprocessed diet consumed, on average, 500 more calories each day than those on a similar yet minimally processed diet, matched for sugar, fat, fiber, and macronutrient content.
