When you visit the grocery store, you’ll see hundreds of boxes and bottles lined up nicely all vying for your attention and money. While they’re tempting to try, these ultraprocessed foods and drinks put your health at risk.
Ultraprocessed foods are designed to be cost-efficient, convenient, and addictive, but unfortunately, not many people are aware of their effects. According to research, majority of the purchases made by consumers nowadays are ultraprocessed foods and drinks.
Ultraprocessed Foods Flood American Groceries and Stomachs
A study published in Public Health Nutrition analyzed nationwide grocery scanner data to reveal how much ultraprocessed foods are making their way into American homes, and which groups are most affected. Pulling data from 59,939 households that collectively scanned 33,054,687 products during 2020, the researchers were able to identify the purchasing habits of consumers across the United States.1
• A snapshot of consumer demographics — The population sample included a broad range, representing all U.S. census regions, income levels, and ethnic backgrounds. What stood out was that purchases weren’t evenly distributed — lower-income households and those with less education bought a significantly higher share of ultraprocessed foods.
• The study pulled back the curtain on the quantity of purchases — It’s mostly packaged, ready-to-eat products that have been heavily refined, stripped of nutrients, and pumped full of additives. Across the entire population, 43% of all scanned items were classified as ultraprocessed. Broken down further, 48% of all foods and 38% of all beverages fell into this category.
• The worst offenders — Sodas topped the ultraprocessed list with a shocking 90% while mixed dishes and soups came in at 81%. Meanwhile, sweets and snacks followed at 71%. Minimally processed categories like fruits and vegetables only accounted for about 12% of all purchases. In other words, real food is being pushed away.
• Not all demographic differences were as dramatic as income and education — When sorted by ethnic groups, non-Hispanic White households purchased slightly more ultraprocessed foods than Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and other households.
However, these differences were marginal — generally under 3%. So, while income and education clearly play a dominant role, cultural factors appear less influential at the national level.
• The COVID-19 pandemic influenced consumer habits — In 2020, lockdowns and fear-based messaging about the COVID-19 virus led to fewer grocery trips, shifting consumers toward shelf-stable foods and a spike in at-home eating.
These conditions were tailor-made for ultraprocessed foods. They’re cheap, have a long expiry date, and require little to no preparation. But these short-term conveniences have long-term costs on public health.
• Disadvantaged groups are bearing the brunt — Lower-income and less-educated households are more vulnerable to chronic disease. In other words, the very groups that need better food the most are the ones being flooded with the worst options.
To shift the trajectory, the solution isn’t just education — it’s reforming what’s offered in the first place and making real food affordable for everyone. Still, being aware is a good first step. Recognizing how Big Ag and its allies engineered and manipulated the food supply allows you to see the signs and not fall for their traps.
Eating Ultraprocessed Foods Puts You at Risk for 32 Conditions
The featured Public Health Nutrition study outlines just how much ultraprocessed food is found in many households across America. Now, a study published in The BMJ shows the implications of eating these products for your health.2
Researchers evaluated the impact of ultraprocessed food consumption on human health by reviewing 45 published meta-analyses involving 9,888,373 participants worldwide. Specifically, they sought to determine how strong the connection is between eating ultraprocessed foods and developing chronic illnesses, mental health problems, and dying earlier than expected.
• Your risk for chronic diseases increases in a dose-dependent manner — Ultraprocessed food consumption showed strong associations with worsening health outcomes throughout the reviewed database. Essentially, the higher the proportion of ultraprocessed food in the diet, the worse your health will become. This held true whether someone was dealing with obesity, cardiovascular problems, anxiety, depression, or didn’t have any of those conditions.
• A closer look at the numbers — The study found “convincing” evidence that eating more ultraprocessed foods is linked to a 50% increase in the risk of dying from heart-related causes, but that’s not all the researchers found. They noted that each time you increase your servings of ultraprocessed foods, your risk for developing other chronic diseases increases:
“Across the pooled analyses, greater exposure to ultra-processed foods, whether measured as higher versus lower consumption, additional servings per day, or a 10% increment, was consistently associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes (71% of outcomes).”3
• Eating ultraprocessed foods puts you at risk for dozens of health issues — The researchers uncovered evidence linking ultraprocessed foods to a whopping 32 conditions, such as obesity, sleep issues, depression, anxiety, and respiratory problems like wheezing:
“Overall, direct associations were found between exposure to ultra-processed foods and 32 (71%) health parameters spanning mortality, cancer, and mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and metabolic health outcomes.”4
• Ultraprocessed foods erode your metabolic health — The study also highlighted patterns of health deterioration linked to ultraprocessed food consumption. For example, strong correlations between ultraprocessed food consumption and metabolic dysfunction, including insulin resistance, and obesity, were noted.
• What makes ultraprocessed foods damaging — The researchers pointed out that the synthetic nature of ultraprocessed foods is dangerous to your health:
“The adverse health outcomes associated with ultra-processed foods may not be fully explained by their nutrient composition and energy density alone but also by physical and chemical properties associated with industrial processing methods, ingredients, and by-products.
Firstly, alterations in the food matrix during intensive processing, also known as dietary reconstitution, may affect digestion, nutrient absorption, and feelings of satiety. Secondly, emerging evidence in humans shows links between exposure to additives, including non-sugar sweeteners, emulsifiers, colorants, and nitrates/nitrites, and detrimental health outcomes.”5
• Your gut microbiome is compromised — Ultraprocessed foods are loaded with additives, emulsifiers, and preservatives not found in nature and were never part of the human diet. Unsurprisingly, these products wreak havoc on your gut health:
“A recent review of experimental research found that ultra-processed weight loss formulations composed of ostensibly balanced nutrient profiles but containing different additives, including non-sugar sweeteners, may have adverse effects on the gut microbiome — which is thought to play an important function in many of the diseases studied here — and related inflammation.”6
• The packaging is also part of the problem — Ultraprocessed foods are usually wrapped in materials that leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like phthalates and bisphenols into the food.
These compounds mimic hormones and disrupt the body’s endocrine signaling, affecting everything from mood to metabolism to reproductive health. It’s not just what’s in the food you need to worry about — it’s also the other chemicals the food absorbed by the time you eat it.
Taken together, these mechanisms eventually take a toll on public health, leading to increasing rates of chronic disease. The more (and longer) you eat ultraprocessed foods, the more your core biological processes break down — gut microbiome, mitochondrial function, hormonal balance — are affected. Therefore, the most obvious path is ditching these mass-produced goods for real, whole foods.
Take Control of Your Diet to Restore Your Health
Ultraprocessed foods are everywhere, and most people don’t even realize how much they’re eating. Grocery stores are purposely laid out to push these products, and food companies spend billions on advertising to keep you hooked. But once you understand how these foods damage your health, it’s easy to stop the assault on your system. That said, here are my recommendations to optimize your health:
1. Minimize your intake of linoleic acid (LA) — If you’re eating out, grabbing snacks, or using store-bought sauces, you’re likely consuming too much LA. This fat lurks in vegetable oils like soybean, canola, sunflower, and safflower. When you eat foods cooked in LA, they accumulate in your fat stores and leak toxic breakdown products that harm your cells.
I recommend removing vegetable oils from your pantry and avoiding any product with “vegetable oil” or its related ingredients on the label. Instead, cook with tallow, ghee, coconut oil, or grass fed butter. It’s also wise to track your LA intake using an app like Food Buddy in my Health Coach, which is coming out this year. Keep it down to less than 5 grams a day, but if you can lower down to less than 2 grams, that’s even better.
2. Rebuild your gut health — Ultraprocessed foods destroy gut integrity by disrupting your microbiome and wearing down your intestinal barrier. I recommend you build and diversify your gut bacteria by slowly reintroducing whole fruit with pulp and fibrous veggies.
If you have compromised gut function, start drinking blended fruit juice (with pulp), as this provides your gut bacteria with the necessary nutrients they need to flourish. Then, you can slowly progress to real fruits and vegetables. For a more in-depth look at doing this properly, read “How Juicing Affects Your Gut and Oral Microbiome.”
3. Eat healthy carbohydrates to heal your gut — In relation to the point above, I recommend eating healthy sources of carbohydrates to reduce your endotoxin load. These are poisonous byproducts that certain gut bacteria release when your microbiome is out of balance, especially when you eat ultraprocessed food.
Start slowly by introducing whole fruits, well-cooked root vegetables, and small amounts of well-tolerated cooked starches. If your gut health is compromised, avoid raw greens and high-fiber grains until your gut is in top shape.
4. Your guide to healthy gut function — Optimal gut health creates a strong foundation for the rest of your body. To know if you’re on the right path, here are five good indicators, according to Ashley Armstrong:
• Regular bowel movements (one to three times daily)
• Minimal bloating or discomfort
• The ability to digest a wide variety of food
• Good energy levels
• Proper nutrient absorption
5. Shop the perimeter and ignore the noise — Grocery stores are set up to trick you. The outer perimeter is where you’ll find actual food — fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy. The middle aisles are a minefield of boxes, bags, and bottles engineered to hijack your appetite.
When you shop, start with real ingredients. If you don’t recognize every word on a label, skip it. You’re not buying “food.” Take back your food freedom by choosing products that don’t need a label at all.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Ultraprocessed Foods
Q: What are ultraprocessed foods and why are they harmful?
A: Ultraprocessed foods are industrial products made mostly from substances extracted or derived from food, plus chemical additives. They’re stripped of nutrients, loaded with vegetable oils, additives, preservatives, and emulsifiers, and they’re engineered to be addictive. Regular consumption is strongly linked to chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, and obesity.
Q: How much of the typical American diet is made up of ultraprocessed foods?
A: According to nationwide grocery data, 43% of all purchased food and beverages are ultraprocessed. Lower-income and less-educated households buy the highest share, often out of necessity or convenience.
Q: What are the long-term health risks of eating ultraprocessed foods?
A: Eating more ultraprocessed food increases your risk of dying from heart disease by 50% and raises your chances of developing diabetes by 12% with every 10% increase in consumption. These foods are also linked to 32 other health issues, including cancer, poor sleep, respiratory problems, anxiety, and metabolic dysfunction.
Q: How do these foods damage your body beyond just poor nutrition?
A: The damage goes far deeper than missing nutrients. Additives and emulsifiers disrupt your gut microbiome, packaging chemicals disrupt your hormones, and the food structure itself overstimulates your metabolism. These factors work together to create inflammation, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial stress that weaken your overall health.
Q: What steps can I take to avoid ultraprocessed foods?
A: Start by removing vegetable oils and processed snacks from your home. Rebuild your gut with whole fruits, healthy carbs, and cooked vegetables. Track your LA intake and aim for less than 5 grams a day (less than 2 grams is the ideal range). In addition, shop wisely by avoiding anything with unrecognizable ingredients. Remember — real foods are better for your health.