Have you ever looked at the ingredients list of a favourite packaged food and not recognized even half of the ingredient names? Names such as disodium guanylate, monocalcium phosphate, or silicon dioxide? Chances are that what you’re eating is an ultra-processed food.
What are Ultra-processed Foods?
Most foods have some degree of processing, such as turning a whole cob of corn into canned corn, or making cream from milk. Ultra-processed foods, however, involve adding various chemical compounds to make the foods that we eat last longer, store better, keep certain textures and shapes, and taste better. It's the reason a package of potato chips or licorice could stay on a store shelf for a decade and still look and taste the same.
While this has allowed us to better transport and store food, in recent years we've been learning increasingly more about the potentially major effects on our health when eating these foods and chemical compounds.
What are the Dangers of Ultra-processed Foods?
Studies have shown that not only do many of these foods have low nutritional value, but they can cause increasing levels of inflammation, particularly in our gut, with links to serious health conditions such as diabetes, colorectal cancer, heart disease and depression.1-5
How Can You Get Around Eating Ultra-processed Foods?
Start by getting into the habit of locking at food package labels to see if you recognize all the ingredients, and try sticking to foods that are minimally processed or non-processed, such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and lean protein. Often these foods require refrigeration or have shorter-term expiration dates.
References
- Chen Z, Khandpur N, Desjardins C, et al. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Three Large Prospective U.S. Cohort Studies. Diabetes Care 2023;46:1335-44. doi:10.2337/ dc22-1993
- Lian Y, Wang G-P, Chen G-Q, Chen HN, Zhang GY. Association between ultra-processed foods and risk of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Nutr 2023;10:1175994. doi:10.3389/ fnut.2023.1175994
- Yuan L, Hu H, Li T, Zhang J, Feng Y, Yang X, Li Y, Wu Y, Li X, Huang H, Hu F. Dose-response meta-analysis of ultra-processed food with the risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality: evidence from prospective cohort studies. Food & function. 2023;14(6):2586-96.
- Samuthpongtorn C, Nguyen LH, Okereke OI, Wang DD, Song M, Chan AT, Mehta RS. Consumption of ultraprocessed food and risk of depression. JAMA Network Open. 2023 Sep 5;6(9):e2334770.
- Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, Ashtree DN, McGuinness AJ, Gauci S, Baker P, Lawrence M, Rebholz CM, Srour B, Touvier M. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. bmj. 2024 Feb 28;384.