Ultra-processed foods explained: What to know about UPFs and why you should avoid them

Health experts have been warning about ultra-processed foods for some time, especially as they are making up more of our diets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this year that kids 18 and younger are getting 62% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.

These foods are high in fat, sugar, and salt and can lead people to consume more calories than they need per day. This leads to several health issues that can lead to early mortality. Whereas eating right can tack an extra ten years of longevity according to research.

What to know about ultra-processed foods

Nutrition researcher Dr. Carlos Monteiro, who coined the term ultra-processed food in 2009, explained to CNN that “they are formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients such as modified starches, sugars, oils, fats, and protein isolates, with little if any whole food added.”

Monteiro developed the NOVA system which classifies foods into four categories which are as follows:

• Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, animal proteins, eggs and milk.
• Processed culinary ingredients: plant oils, animal fats, natural sugars, and salt
• Processed foods: canned goods, salted meats, fermented beverages
• Ultra-processed foods: Sugar sweetened beverages, sweet and savory packaged snacks, reconstituted meat products, preprepared frozen dishes, canned and instant soups, chicken nuggets, and ice cream

Why you should avoid ultra-processed foods

Numerous studies have shown that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods can lead to a higher risk of developing cancer and early mortality. Within the findings of one by the Imperial College London’s School of Public Health, which looked at the risk of developing 34 types of cancer, two that stood out were ovarian and brain cancers.

Other increased health effect risks from consuming ultra-processed foods according to a study by The BMJ included the following:

Are any ultra-processed foods okay?

The American Heart Association released new guidelines for ultra-processed foods in August. It stated that “not all UPFs are harmful” but the list was pretty limited. It included “certain whole grain breads, low-sugar yogurts, tomato sauces, and nut or bean-based spreads are of better diet quality.”

The AHA though recommended further monitoring of these products and that they should be “reformulated if future data show harm to overall health.”

Use an app to find out how processed your food is

So, if you’re looking to cut back on ultra-processed foods but don’t know where to start, carefully check the ingredients on the packaging of a product before you buy.

Some of the lettering on packaging might be too small to read, so an alternative is to use the free UPF scanning app Processed (available through App Store and Play Store) by scanning the barcode or ingredients list of any food product with your mobile phone. Within seconds, you will get a result to help you determine the processing level of your food. The Processed app database lists over 8 million barcodes, helping you to find out which foods should be avoided.

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