Ultra-Processed Food: What It Is (And Why You Should Care)

Whilst UPFs have received bad press, the advice isn’t to avoid them altogether. It’s not that black and white (is it ever?). And in fact, some UPFs can play an important role in a healthy and balanced diet - so long as you’re savvy about which foods to include, and which to avoid.

So, if you’re feeling miffed about UPF, this blog series aims to shed light on the subject by exploring:

• What UPF is

• UPF examples

• The potential risks

• Why not all UPFs are created equal

• Some healthy UPF swaps

• How to combat potential UPF side effects 

“Ultra-processed food” is a term coined by researchers from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, when they created the NOVA food classification system. It orders food into four groups:

1. Unprocessed or minimally processed- food that hasn’t been changed much (or at all) from its original state, including things like fruit, vegetables, eggs, seeds and nuts.
2. Processed culinary ingredients - food added to other food, such as sugar, salt, butter and oils
3. Processed- food created by combining foods from the above groups, for instance freshly made bread, tinned fruit and veg, tinned fish and cheese

The fourth group is (you guessed it) ultra-processed foods, which tend to share a number of characteristics:

• 5+ ingredients

• Wholly altered from their original state

• Contain ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboard - such as preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colours 

Ever looked at the back of a label to discover an ingredients list as long as your arm? Chances are, that food was ultra-processed. In fact, UPFs include many of our favourite cupboard staples, such as:

• Packaged cakes and biscuits

• Sweets and chocolate

• Some ready meals

• Crisps

• Sweetened drinks

• Packaged meat (like pasties and pies)

• Supermarket bread

• Breakfast cereals

• Ice cream

• Fruit-flavoured yogurts 

UPFs tend to be high in calories, salt or sugar, and saturated fats - and at the same time, low in fibre. They don’t usually have high nutritional value, so when we eat a lot of them, we’re not leaving much space in our diets left for healthier whole foods that contain more of the minerals and vitamins our bodies need to function at their very best.

Eating too many UPFs have been linked to a number of potential health conditions, including obesity, anxiety and depression, and even cancer. But there remains a question mark over exactly what it is about UPFs that can lead to these conditions - for instance, whether it’s what the foods contain, how they are processed, or a bit of both.

We can’t explicitly say that UPFs ‘cause’ these conditions, either. Studies simply show that people who consume a lot of UPFs can be at greater risk of developing certain health issues.

There’s a lot of scaremongering around UPFs, but the truth is that certain processed foods can provide some nutritional benefits. Wholemeal breads and wholegrain breakfasts fortified with vitamins are just two examples.

This makes the NOVA classification system slightly ambiguous, as a Zoe blog rightly points out. It cites a study which found that UPFs can have both negative and positive effects on our health, for instance:

• Artificially-sweetened drinks and processed meats lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular health, while cold cereals, bread and dairy-based desserts lowered the risk 

• Sweet spreads, condiments and artificially-sweetened drinks lead to a higher risk of diabetes, while cereals and packaged savoury snacks reduced the risk 

This all supports what we said earlier: it’s not just a case of cutting out UPFs entirely. Rather, it’s about being conscious about the UPFs you consume, and how many, whilst ensuring the remainder of your diet is made up of nutritious whole foods packed with vitamins and minerals.