Ultra-Processed Food Is Everywhere. But Do You Really Need to Quit It Completely?

Walk into any supermarket today and look around.

Bread. Breakfast cereal. Biscuits. Yogurt. Instant noodles. Frozen meals. Protein bars. Flavored drinks. Chips. Ready-made sauces.

Even some foods that look like they belong in the “healthy” aisle.

Ultra-processed food is everywhere. And now we are hearing more and more about how bad it is for us.

“Cut out ultra-processed food.”

“Never eat packaged food.”

“Read every ingredient label.”

“Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are toxic.”

I understand where some of this fear comes from.

The research around ultra-processed foods is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. But I think we need to have a more sensible conversation. Because there is a big difference between saying: “You should reduce your intake of ultra-processed foods.” 

And saying: “You need to completely eliminate every ultra-processed food from your life.”

I don't think those are the same thing. And before we start throwing everything in our kitchen into the bin, let's understand what ultra-processed food actually means.

So, what exactly is an ultra-processed food? 

The word “processed” can be confusing. Because technically, almost everything we eat is processed in some way.

• Rice is milled.

• Dal is cleaned and split.

• Milk may be pasteurised.

• Vegetables can be frozen.

• We cook our food.

• We ferment it.

• We dry it.

• We grind it.

Processing itself is not the problem. 

The NOVA classification divides foods according to the degree and purpose of processing. At one end, you have unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Think fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, meat, fish, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds. Then you have processed culinary ingredients such as oil, butter, salt and sugar.

Then there are processed foods, which are generally made by adding ingredients such as salt, sugar or oil to relatively simple foods. Things like some cheeses, canned vegetables and traditionally prepared breads can fall into this category.

And then there is the fourth group:

Ultra-processed foods.

These are industrial formulations made using ingredients and additives that are often not things you would normally use when cooking at home. They can contain things such as protein isolates, modified starches, sweeteners, emulsifiers, colors, flavours and other additives designed to modify taste, texture, appearance or shelf life. And this is where things get interesting. Because ultra-processed does not simply mean “junk food”.

That is one of the biggest misconceptions.

Not everything processed is bad.

Take bread for example. A simple bread made with flour, water, yeast and salt is processed. But that doesn't automatically make it unhealthy.

Now compare that with a highly formulated packaged product containing refined flour, added sugars, oils, emulsifiers, colors, flavorings and several other ingredients.

Both are “bread”. But they are very different products. The same thing applies to yogurt. Plain yogurt is a relatively simple food.

But a dessert-style flavored yogurt containing added sugars, sweeteners, thickeners and multiple additives can be a very different nutritional proposition.

So when someone tells me: “Never eat processed food.” 

My first response is: What exactly do you mean by processed? 

Because processing has been part of human food preparation for thousands of years. The bigger concern is the increasing dominance of ultra-processed foods in our diets.

And this is where the evidence becomes interesting.

The 2024 umbrella review in The BMJ researched 45 combined analyses with approximately 9.9 million participants. The authors have found that the consumption of ultra-processed food relates to an increase in the risk of many health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and deaths.

That is a lot of information. However, I would like to make it clear that there is one point to consider. Most of the evidence is observational. That indicates that we can see a connection between an increase in the consumption of UPF and an increase in health problems but we cannot claim that every health condition is caused by processing.

People who consume UPF may differ in some aspects such as the level of activity, sleeping pattern, income, dietary habits, and many lifestyle features. The researchers themselves admit that more mechanism research is needed.

That is why I think we should not make the science too simple and at the same time not deny the trend.

That deserves our attention.

But why might these foods make it easier to overeat?

This is where one of the most interesting studies comes in.

In 2019, researchers at the US National Institutes of Health conducted a controlled feeding study involving 20 healthy adults.

For two weeks, participants were given an ultra-processed diet. For another two weeks, they were given a minimally processed diet. The researchers matched the diets for several nutritional characteristics. The participants were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.

And something interesting happened.

When participants were eating the ultra-processed diet, they consumed more calories and gained weight. When they were eating the minimally processed diet, they consumed fewer calories and lost weight. The average difference was roughly 500 calories per day.

Now, this was a small and relatively short study.

So I wouldn't take it and say: “Ultra-processed food is proven to make everyone obese.”

But it does give us an important clue.

The problem may not simply be calories on a nutrition label. The way a food is formulated may influence how quickly we eat it, how much we eat and how satisfying it feels.

Think about a bag of chips. It is very easy to eat one.

Then another.

Then another.

You don't necessarily sit there thinking: “I am hungry. I need another 150 calories.”

You just keep eating.

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Compare that with sitting down with a bowl of dal, vegetables and rice. 

The experience is different.

The texture is different.

The chewing is different.

The volume is different.

The speed at which you eat can be different.

And your body's response to the meal can be different.

So sometimes, the question isn't simply: “How many calories does this food contain?” 

It is also: “How easy is this food to overeat?”

And then there is convenience.

This is something I don't want to ignore.

Ultra-processed foods did not become popular simply because food companies wanted us to eat badly. They also solved a real problem.

They solved "Convenience." 

You are tired after work.

You don't want to cook.

You need something that can sit in your cupboard for weeks.

You want something you can put in a microwave for five minutes and gets ready.

You need breakfast when you are running late.

You want a snack that you can carry in your bag.

Ultra-processed food fits into our modern life incredibly well.

And that is exactly why telling someone: “Just eliminate all of it.” ...is not always practical.

Instead, I think we need to ask: "Where can I reduce it?" 

That is a much better starting point. 

You don't have to throw away your entire kitchen.

Let's say you drink a fizzy beverage every day.

Could you replace it with water, sparkling water, buttermilk or another drink you enjoy most of the time?

That's a simple change. 

You regularly eat packaged biscuits in the evening.

Could you sometimes replace them with fruit, nuts, roasted chana or another snack?

That's another change.

You use ready-made sauces with every meal.

Could you occasionally make a simple tomato-based sauce using tomatoes, garlic, herbs and spices?

You buy chips every evening.

Could you make roasted or baked potatoes sometimes instead?

The point is not to make every meal from scratch.

The point is to slowly change the balance. 

More minimally processed food. Less ultra-processed food. 

That is already a meaningful shift. 

And don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. 

This is where I think the conversation around UPFs can become unnecessarily extreme. 

Someone eats a packaged biscuit at a birthday party and suddenly feels that their entire diet has failed.

Why?

One biscuit did not destroy your metabolic health.

One slice of birthday cake did not undo six months of healthy eating.

One packet of chips on a road trip does not mean you have “fallen off the diet”.

We need to stop thinking about nutrition in terms of perfect and imperfect foods.

Look at your overall dietary pattern.

If 80 or 90% of your diet is built around nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods and you occasionally have a packaged snack, that is very different from getting most of your calories from ultra-processed products.

That distinction matters.

Because health is not determined by one meal. It is determined by patterns repeated over months and years.

There is another problem with completely eliminating UPFs.

Not every food classified as ultra-processed has the same nutritional profile. Some may be high in sugar, sodium or unhealthy fats. Others may be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Some may provide useful amounts of protein or fiber. And some packaged foods can be practical for people with busy schedules, limited cooking facilities or specific nutritional needs.

This is why I don't like judging a food only by the category printed on a chart.

Look at the whole picture.

What is the food?

How much are you eating?

What else are you eating?

How often are you eating it?

What is it replacing?

And what does the rest of your diet look like?

That gives us much more information.

What I would actually change.

If someone came to me and said: “Ryan, I eat a lot of ultra-processed food. What should I do?” 

I wouldn't tell them to empty their kitchen tonight.

I'd start with the biggest sources.

• What are you eating every day?

• What are you eating because you are genuinely hungry?

• What are you eating simply because it is there?

• What foods could you easily replace?

And where can we make the smallest change that will have the biggest impact?

Maybe breakfast changes.

Maybe the evening snack changes.

Maybe the daily sugary drink goes.

Maybe instant noodles stop being the default dinner three times a week.

Maybe the packaged dessert becomes something you have occasionally rather than every night.

Small changes can add up.

So, do you really need to quit ultra-processed food completely?

No.

I don't think that is the right message. 

But I also don't think we should dismiss the growing evidence around ultra-processed food.

There is now a substantial body of research linking higher UPF consumption with poorer health outcomes, and controlled feeding research suggests that some ultra-processed diets can make it easier to consume excess calories.

So instead of asking: “How do I eliminate every ultra-processed food from my life?”

I'd rather you ask: “How much of my diet is coming from ultra-processed food, and what can I replace?” 

Start there.

• Eat more vegetables.

• Eat more fruits.

• Eat more pulses.

• Include whole grains where appropriate.

• Choose nuts and seeds.

• Include good sources of protein.

• Cook more often when you can.

And when you do buy packaged food, learn to look beyond the front of the packet.

The words “high protein”, “multigrain”, “natural” or “healthy” don't automatically make a product healthy.

Turn the packet around.

Read the ingredients.

Look at the nutrition information.

And ask yourself what you are actually buying.

Because sometimes the healthiest swap isn't a fancy “health food”. It is simply going back to something that looks more like food.

• A bowl of dal.

• A piece of fruit.

• Curd.

• Vegetables.

• Eggs.

• Nuts.

• A home-cooked meal.

Nothing revolutionary. Just food.

You don't need a perfect diet. 

I think this is ultimately the message I want people to take away. Don't become afraid of food because it came in a packet. Don't feel guilty because you ate a biscuit. Don't throw away everything in your kitchen because someone on social media told you that every emulsifier is toxic.

But at the same time, don't pretend that a diet dominated by ultra-processed foods is equivalent to a diet built around minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods.

It isn't.

The evidence is increasingly clear that our overall exposure matters.

And if ultra-processed foods have become the foundation of your diet, that is probably worth changing.

Not overnight.

Not perfectly.

Just gradually.

Because the goal of nutrition is not to create a life where you can never eat a pizza, a biscuit or a birthday cake again.

The goal is to make the foods that nourish you the foods that make up most of your diet.

And if you can get that balance right, you don't need to fear the occasional ultra-processed food.

You just need to make sure it stays occasional. 

Your calorie, protein, carbohydrate, fiber and micronutrient requirements are not necessarily the same as someone else's. A qualified dietitian or nutritionist can look at your health, lifestyle, food preferences, goals and nutritional needs and help build a plan around you, rather than asking you to fit into a generic diet.

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