While ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may seem like yet another nutrition buzzword to persuade you to cook everything from scratch, health concerns about specific types made from highly refined ingredients have merit. There is no official definition from the Food and Drug Administration, though health experts and researchers agree that UPFs are made with highly industrialized processes that change and degrade a food’s natural nutritional composition, according to an article published in the British Medical Journal.
Think of salty snacks extruded into fun shapes made from finely pulverized corn and seasoned with a powdery coating of an irresistible cheesy flavor. For sweet tooths, UPFs can be cakes, cookies or even cereals made from highly processed oats, corn, rice and wheat sprayed with a sparkly sugar coating.
And yet public health experts like Kevin Hall, PhD, a researcher with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, acknowledge that UPFs may be more than just the typical junk foods. Even energy bars and drinks, sweetened yogurts and highly refined whole wheat breads may negatively affect the body as much as the more obvious overly processed foods.
Hall’s most telling study in 2019 compared results from the same people who consumed processed meals for two weeks and unprocessed meals for the same period. Those who ate an ultra-processed breakfast consisting of, say, a bagel, cream cheese and turkey bacon ate faster and gained more weight than if they ate an unprocessed breakfast of oatmeal with bananas, walnuts and skim milk.
Since many foods are processed to varying degrees, Hall and others would like to see more standardized studies on what constitutes a UPF. In 2023, he and a group of researchers met to develop a research roadmap supported by the United States Department of Agriculture. The outcome, published in the Advances in Nutrition journal, acknowledged that more standardized studies are needed to identify the correlation between UPF consumption and the risk of developing health conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, stroke and even mental health disorders.
The difference between processed foods and UPFs
Contrary to what you might think, not all processed foods are unhealthy, says Roger Clemens, PhD, a Loveland resident who teaches online and in-person classes at the University of Southern California’s School of Pharmacy and International Center for Regulatory Science.
“Today, nearly every food we eat is processed, but each on a different scale,” he says. “Vegetables blanched and frozen within minutes of harvest are higher in Vitamin C than the same fresh varieties in the produce aisle. Canned tomatoes have higher levels of important antioxidants, like lycopene.”
That’s why defining UPFs is a challenge: Some health and nutrition experts suggest defining a processed food by the number of ingredients within it, but this could misclassify foods such as milk alternatives, frozen meals and even baby formula.
“The science is complicated, and it’s easy for nuanced concepts to get lost or misinterpreted when we try to provide quick, practical answers,” says James Peth, PhD, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at Colorado State University.
Clemens uses the following classifications when teaching medical students about processed foods.
Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: fresh fruits and vegetables, pasteurized eggs and milk and packaged meats, poultry and seafood.
Processed culinary ingredients: herbs and spices, sugars and syrups, oils, vinegars, flours and starches.
Processed foods: canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen meals, pastas, whole grains and cereals, cheeses, cured meats, yogurt, dairy alternative milks and freshly baked breads.
Ultra-processed foods: packaged salty and sweet snacks, sweetened cereals, bakery items, energy bars, sugary drinks and some prepared frozen meals.
Why all the fuss?
Peth frequently refers students to “The End of Overeating” by David Kessler, former FDA commissioner. The book describes how sophisticated equipment heats, pressurizes, extracts, synthesizes and extrudes ingredients, allowing manufacturing to transform whole foods into sweet or salty foods that require no preparation by the consumer.
“These foods stimulate the brain’s dopaminergic reward system—essentially the same part of the brain involved in many forms of addictive behavior,” Peth says.
He points to research suggesting that these hyper-palatable foods present a battle between the brain’s reward signals and satiety hormones. We tend to eat them quicker because they taste good, he says, which delays the release of satiety hormones and makes it easier to consume more calories than intended.
Ongoing research is taking a closer look at how the wide range of commercially prepared foods compares to the same recipes prepared at home as well as minimally processed versions and their effects on the body.
“The food matrix is very complicated and requires scientifically sound examination of all the ingredients used in food, our processes and how this affects microbes in the gut, blood sugar regulation and organs like the liver,” Clemens says.
Ways to limit or avoid UPFs
Hunger is not the only reason we eat. Sweet and salty foods are particularly appealing when time is short, moods are low and nerves are stressed.
“We tend to view food choices in isolation, but sleep, stress, exercise and emotional state all contribute to what, when and how much we eat,” Peth says. “The best approach involves both mindfulness and mindlessness: Mindfulness means paying attention to our food and how it makes us feel, and we also need to plan for the many times when we aren’t paying close attention.”
This is where practical strategies come in. Try these tips from Peth:
1. Before heading to the store, make a grocery list prioritizing minimally processed foods such as fruits, vegetables, non-roasted nuts, whole grain cereals and pastas, beans, lean proteins and non-sugary drinks and yogurt.
2. Avoid the grocery aisles with the least healthy foods you find hard to resist. Reserve those foods for special occasions.
3. Read the ingredient label to see if a prepared product is close to what you might make in your own kitchen. Look for high-fiber, unprocessed proteins and whole grains as well as foods with minimal sugar and sodium.
4. Prepare healthy snacks, like chopped apples or peeled carrots, to bring with you when you leave the house.
5. Swap out prepared cereals and highly processed breads for items made with whole grains, high fiber and fermented ingredients.
6. Focus less on processed, packaged lunch meats and replace them with roasted chicken or turkey and canned salmon or tuna.
7. Keep a supply of frozen vegetables in the freezer.
8. Prepare bulk batches of healthy meals such as salads, soups and vegetable-filled dishes to make them a convenient choice later.
9. Eat a few bites of raw nuts or fruit in the afternoon to help curb hunger. This will make you less likely to grab whatever is nearby.
10. Consider wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track how different foods and other lifestyle factors, like sleep and stress, impact your blood sugar. “I’ve confirmed while wearing a monitor that when I eat more fiber and fewer refined carbs, I experience fewer spikes, crashes and cravings,” Peth says. “The CGM has also helped me see how factors like poor sleep or high stress influence my glucose levels, reminding me how interconnected these behaviors are.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Roasted Chickpeas with Rosemary
Serving size: 1/3 cup
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy of the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center, Colorado State University
Skip the packaged snacks and reach for these crunchy, savory homemade treats. Garbanzo beans and chickpeas are a good source of protein, fiber and potassium. Rosemary seasoning provides antioxidants and a lovely floral-pine flavor. This recipe calls for dried cranberries, but feel free to use others such as dried blueberries, chopped dried apricots or prunes.
Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
5 tablespoons dried cranberries or other dried fruit of choice
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F. Drain and rinse chickpeas under cold water, then dry thoroughly by patting with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add chickpeas and toss to coat with the oil mixture. Evenly spread chickpeas onto a sheet pan, then place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle with the rosemary, then return to the oven to roast for 3-5 more minutes until chickpeas are crispy.
Remove pan from the oven and allow chickpeas to cool. Once cool, stir in dried fruit. Store in airtight containers or bags for up to four days.
Nutrition information* (amount per serving)
Calories: 230
Protein: 5 grams
Total fat: 12 grams
Total carbohydrates: 27 grams
Saturated fat: 1.5 grams
Dietary fiber: 5 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 325 milligrams
Sugars: 12 grams
Added sugars: 9 grams
*Nutritional information is estimated using Nutritionist Pro, and accuracy is not guaranteed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
No-bake Pumpkin Bites
Serving size: 1 bite
Yield: 25 bites
Recipe courtesy of the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center, Colorado State University.
These mini morsels are an ideal snack when hunger strikes while you are on the go. Double the recipe so you always have a supply on hand in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed or wheat germ
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1c up pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Stir all ingredients together in a bowl until mixed. Let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll into 1-inch balls. Store the bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition information* (amount per serving)
Calories: 93
Protein: 2 grams
Total fat: 5 grams
Total carbohydrates: 12 grams
Saturated fat: 2 grams
Dietary fiber: 2 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 18 milligrams
Sugars: 7 grams
Added sugars: 2 grams
*Nutritional information is estimated using Nutritionist Pro, and accuracy is not guaranteed.
