Key TakeawaysAnything you eat that looks different on your plate than in nature has been processed in some way; however, an ultra-processed diet comes with health risks.Eating lots of ultra-processed foods has been linked to increased rates of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and dementia.Pay attention to the ingredient list, and look for minimally processed foods with whole ingredients.

Key Takeaways

Anything you eat that looks different on your plate than in nature has been processed in some way; however, an ultra-processed diet comes with health risks.Eating lots of ultra-processed foods has been linked to increased rates of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and dementia.Pay attention to the ingredient list, and look for minimally processed foods with whole ingredients.

As you peruse the aisles of your local grocery store, almost all the items on the shelves look like they came from a factory rather than a farm. Except for raw fruits and vegetables, everything in the store has been processed: cooked, frozen, dried, or enhanced with additives before it reaches its final, shelf-stable form.

Most foods in the modern diet are processed to some degree,Jenna Volpe, RDN, told Verywell. Processing food may be necessary to extend its shelf life or make it safer to eat. For instance, most dairy products undergo pasteurization to remove harmful microbes before they are sold, Volpe said.

However, processed foods have evolved to include more chemical additives and fewer whole ingredients, leading nutrition experts to add a new food classification:ultra-processed foods.Common ultra-processedfoods include snacks, soft drinks, ready meals, and any food products containing artificial ingredients; they are known for being energy-dense yet nutritionally imbalanced.

Fortunately, you don’t have to swear off all processed foods. Volpe, a holistic dietician, said she considers how many ingredients are listed on a package, whether the ingredients are mostly natural or artificial, and how many steps the food underwent before it made it into her plate.

Ultra-Processed Foods Increase Disease Risk

On a global level, people are eating more processed foods than ever, and rates of diet-related diseases have increased, integrative nephrologistDara Huang, MD, told Verywell. Several common health conditions have been linked with the consumption of ultra-processed foods, including an increased risk of:

Compared to processed foods, ultra-processed foods contain more added sugar, salt, and trans fat—all ingredients that can have a harmful effect on your health if consumed in excess.

Ultra-Procssed FoodsExamples of ultra-processed foods to reduce or exclude from your diet include:Carbonated drinksBreakfast cerealsEnergy barsFlavored yogurtMicrowave mealsDeli meat, hot dogs, and bacon (reconstituted meat products)Packaged snacks (e.g., mass-produced cookies or chips)

Ultra-Procssed Foods

Examples of ultra-processed foods to reduce or exclude from your diet include:Carbonated drinksBreakfast cerealsEnergy barsFlavored yogurtMicrowave mealsDeli meat, hot dogs, and bacon (reconstituted meat products)Packaged snacks (e.g., mass-produced cookies or chips)

Examples of ultra-processed foods to reduce or exclude from your diet include:

Consuming too much sugar can have an inflammatory effect throughout the body, Huang said. Artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup are especially disruptive to thegut microbiome, feeding bad microbes and interfering with normalmetabolism, Volpe added.

Processed and ultra-processed foods also may contain partially hydrogenated oil, known as trans fat. Trans fat can increase your cholesterol and block insulin receptor sites in the body, leading to insulin resistance, Volpe explained.Insulin resistanceis a precursor to type 2 diabetes and is associated with metabolic syndrome.

What Is Metabolic Syndrome?

Inspect the Ingredients List

In general, a longer ingredient list indicates that a food is more heavily processed, Huang said. When counseling patients on weight loss, she said she sometimes tells them to write the complete ingredient list before indulging in processed snacks. Most people look at ingredient labels briefly, if at all, so taking the time to understand what’s your food can help guide healthier choices.

Whenreading nutrition labels, Volpe recommends doing an ingredient gut check.

Jenna Volpe, RDNWould your great-grandparents recognize this ingredient? If the ingredient is relatively new to the food industry, you can assume it was made in a laboratory or factory.

Jenna Volpe, RDN

Would your great-grandparents recognize this ingredient? If the ingredient is relatively new to the food industry, you can assume it was made in a laboratory or factory.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the standards for nutrition labels. The most prominent ingredients are listed first, with artificial flavorings and additives listed toward the end.If the ingredient list devolves into a series of unpronounceable words that look like they belong in a chemistry textbook, you’re looking at an ultra-processed food.

However, be aware of certain loopholes when scanning the nutrition facts, Volpe said. The FDA regulations employ a generous definition of “no trans fat,” where any food with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving can round down to zero.

“If you really want the answer, you just have to look at the ingredient list,” Volpe said. “It’s either going to have partially hydrogenated or fully hydrogenated oil, or it’s not.”

Which Foods Still Contain Trans Fats?

Processed Foods to Keep on Your Grocery List

Nutrient-dense processed foods do exist, cardiologist Maureen Wang, MD, told Verywell in an email; you just have to know what to look for. When reading nutrition labels, Wang recommends paying attention to serving sizes, calories, and nutrient breakdown. Avoid items high in sodium, added sugars, and saturated or trans fats.

One of the best examples of nutrient-dense processed foods is pulses, Huang said. Pulses include beans, lentils, chickpeas, and any dry edible seeds from a legume. They’re low-cost, like many other processed foods, and are a low-fat source of fiber and protein.

Nutrient-Dense Processed FoodsSome additional nutrient-dense processed foods Huang and Wang recommend include:Frozen vegetablesCanned fishCanned beans (tip: rinse beans before eating to remove excess sodium)Fortified whole-grain breadFortified cereals with minimal added sugarPlain Greek yogurtHummusLentil or chickpea pastaWhole-grain or brown riceVeggie burgersTofu

Nutrient-Dense Processed Foods

Some additional nutrient-dense processed foods Huang and Wang recommend include:Frozen vegetablesCanned fishCanned beans (tip: rinse beans before eating to remove excess sodium)Fortified whole-grain breadFortified cereals with minimal added sugarPlain Greek yogurtHummusLentil or chickpea pastaWhole-grain or brown riceVeggie burgersTofu

Some additional nutrient-dense processed foods Huang and Wang recommend include:

As you’re grocery shopping, you may notice that nutrient-dense foods are literally denser than processed foods. For instance, a loaf of ultra-processed white bread feels lighter than a whole-grain loaf.

“If you look at [white bread] and kind of squish it into a ball, it’s mostly air,” Huang said. “Then you have those nutritionally dense foods like whole wheat bread, and if they have more whole wheat and nuts and grains, it’s going to be heavier.”

To build a nutritious diet on a budget, Volpe recommended checking out the natural aisle of mainstream supermarkets rather than frequenting expensive health food stores. You can find minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods without breaking the bank.

What This Means For YouYou don’t have to swear off processed foods entirely to eat a nutrient-dense diet. Choose minimally processed foods with ingredients you recognize, and avoid foods with lots of additives.

What This Means For You

You don’t have to swear off processed foods entirely to eat a nutrient-dense diet. Choose minimally processed foods with ingredients you recognize, and avoid foods with lots of additives.

5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy R, et al.NOVA. The star shines bright.World Nutr. 2016;7(1-3):28-38.Crimarco A, Landry MJ, Gardner CD.Ultra-processed foods, weight gain, and co-morbidity risk.Curr Obes Rep. 2022;11(3):80-92. doi:10.1007/s13679-021-00460-yDu S, Kim H, Crews DC, White K, Rebholz CM.Association between ultraprocessed food consumption and risk of incident CKD: A prospective cohort study.Am J Kidney Dis. 2022;80(5):589-598.e1. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.03.016Gomes Gonçalves N, Vidal Ferreira N, Khandpur N, et al.Association between consumption of ultraprocessed foods and cognitive decline.JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(2):142-150. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4397National Institute on Aging.How to read food and beverage labels.

5 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy R, et al.NOVA. The star shines bright.World Nutr. 2016;7(1-3):28-38.Crimarco A, Landry MJ, Gardner CD.Ultra-processed foods, weight gain, and co-morbidity risk.Curr Obes Rep. 2022;11(3):80-92. doi:10.1007/s13679-021-00460-yDu S, Kim H, Crews DC, White K, Rebholz CM.Association between ultraprocessed food consumption and risk of incident CKD: A prospective cohort study.Am J Kidney Dis. 2022;80(5):589-598.e1. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.03.016Gomes Gonçalves N, Vidal Ferreira N, Khandpur N, et al.Association between consumption of ultraprocessed foods and cognitive decline.JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(2):142-150. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4397National Institute on Aging.How to read food and beverage labels.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy R, et al.NOVA. The star shines bright.World Nutr. 2016;7(1-3):28-38.Crimarco A, Landry MJ, Gardner CD.Ultra-processed foods, weight gain, and co-morbidity risk.Curr Obes Rep. 2022;11(3):80-92. doi:10.1007/s13679-021-00460-yDu S, Kim H, Crews DC, White K, Rebholz CM.Association between ultraprocessed food consumption and risk of incident CKD: A prospective cohort study.Am J Kidney Dis. 2022;80(5):589-598.e1. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.03.016Gomes Gonçalves N, Vidal Ferreira N, Khandpur N, et al.Association between consumption of ultraprocessed foods and cognitive decline.JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(2):142-150. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4397National Institute on Aging.How to read food and beverage labels.

Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy R, et al.NOVA. The star shines bright.World Nutr. 2016;7(1-3):28-38.

Crimarco A, Landry MJ, Gardner CD.Ultra-processed foods, weight gain, and co-morbidity risk.Curr Obes Rep. 2022;11(3):80-92. doi:10.1007/s13679-021-00460-y

Du S, Kim H, Crews DC, White K, Rebholz CM.Association between ultraprocessed food consumption and risk of incident CKD: A prospective cohort study.Am J Kidney Dis. 2022;80(5):589-598.e1. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.03.016

Gomes Gonçalves N, Vidal Ferreira N, Khandpur N, et al.Association between consumption of ultraprocessed foods and cognitive decline.JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(2):142-150. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4397

National Institute on Aging.How to read food and beverage labels.

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