Eating processed foods (2024)

FAQs

What happens when you eat processed food? ›

While it may be convenient, consuming ultraprocessed foods on a regular basis increases a person's risk of health complications including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity and type 2 diabetes. But it can be hard to tell when these foods are on your plate.

A list of common ultra-processed foods. Examples of ultra-processed foods include ice cream, ham, sausages, crisps, mass-produced bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, carbonated drinks, fruit-flavoured yogurts, instant soups, and some alcoholic drinks including whisky, gin, and rum.

Not all processed food is bad for you. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. High-fibre breakfast cereals, wholemeal breads, and some lower-fat yoghurt can also form part of a healthy diet.

Heavily processed foods often include unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium and fat. These ingredients make the food we eat taste better, but too much of them leads to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Processed foods, such as ready meals, baked goods, and processed meats, can have negative health effects. Consuming highly or heavily processed foods can lead to weight gain, increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, and more. Most food needs some degree of processing, and not all processed foods are bad for the body.

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Think vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs and milk. Make these real, whole foods the basis of your diet.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is an easy way to work some heart-friendly plant protein into your day. But depending on whether it contains added hydrogenated oils and mono- and diglycerides, it can fall into the processed or ultra-processed bucket on the NOVA scale, explains the National Peanut Board.

These are formulations derived from foods, additives, preservatives, and stabilizers. They're typically created by industrial processes. Ultra-processed foods include prepared or packaged pizza, meat, or pasta, as well as soft drinks, fast food, cookies, and packaged bread.

Is popcorn a processed food? ›

Back to the snack aisle, pre-popped popcorn is an example of a food that's somewhat processed but not to the point of being ultra-processed — making it a healthier option when you're looking for something to snack on between meals.

Used for oatmeal, rolled oats are lightly processed to make them edible. The oat groats (grain kernels) are steamed, flattened, and dried. They still contain all three parts of the grain—the bran, germ, and endosperm—so they retain all of the fiber and other nutrients.

Focusing on eating unprocessed foods, sometimes called "clean eating," has several health benefits, such as boosting your mood, helping you lose weight, and improving sleep. To do this, you may want to limit your intake of processed foods, including cheese, processed meats, sugar-sweetened drinks, and potato chips.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and food additives have become ubiquitous components of the modern human diet. There is increasing evidence of an association between diets rich in UPFs and gut disease, including inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and irritable bowel syndrome.

After you eat, it takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine. Food then enters your large intestine (colon) for further digestion, absorption of water and, finally, elimination of undigested food. It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon.

It's just a matter of reading the ingredient list on a food's label. If you see numerous ingredients, including chemicals and any words you don't recognize, that food is probably ultra-processed. Put it back and look for something with the shortest list of ingredients possible.