Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are linked to several concerning health conditions, both mental and physical. Walk down any grocery store aisle and you will see countless meals, snacks, drinks, and desserts that fall firmly under the UPF umbrella, but even some options marketed as healthy or better for you are, in fact, the opposite. “Foods that are ultra-processed are altered from their natural forms. This can be done to make foods appear a certain way or preserve foods for longer. Compare a carton of eggs that you purchase with a frozen egg patty. Even though both of these items contain eggs, these are very different foods that have gone through very different journeys to get to the store shelves,” says Neha Sachdev, MD, MS, via the AMA.
“If you’re not feeling good, if you’re eating processed foods all the time, you’re not sleeping well, there’s all of these other cascade effects that negatively impact your health,” registered dietitian Vanessa Rissetto told TODAY. “Choose whole foods, be less reliant on convenience foods. Plan ahead. If you plan ahead, then you’re not going to grab these quick things. Less is more — less ingredients, study the labels. But remember, you can have ultra-processed foods sometimes, but what you eat does matter, so be mindful of that.” Here are 11 ultra-processed foods that may be a lot worse for your health than you realize.
Supermarket Bread
Most commercially-produced breads—yes, even that organic, whole-grain loaf—are packed full of unhealthy additives. “If bread or other products have had preservatives added to it to extend the shelf-life, then it is likely ultra-processed,” dietitian Lindsey Wohlford tells MD Anderson.
Plant-Based Meat
Fake “plant-based” meat is sold as a healthier alternative to real meat, but “Vegan meat may seem like a healthy and convenient alternative. However, its ultra-processed ingredients, GMOs, and gut-busting additives make it anything but a healthy choice,” says Amy Myers, MD. “If you want to optimize your health, whole, nutrient-dense foods will always be a better option than lab-made vegan meat.”
Plant-Based Milk
Plant-based milks are not the healthy option many people assume they are. Many shelf-stable alternative milks are packed full of additives and preservatives. “Ingredients will differ, and most of these are unlikely to make or break a plant milk’s nutrition profile,” registered dietitian Kimberly Spatola told Novant Health. “But there are two ingredients I would avoid — carrageenan and added sugars. If you drink a glass of cow’s milk, you’ll notice it is inherently sweet. So, many of these products try to mimic that by adding sugar. Instead, I always recommend unsweetened, unflavored plant milks.”
Breakfast Cereals
Most grocery store breakfast cereals, even the “healthy” ones, are packed full of dyes, sugar, and additives. “Many cereals and breakfast drinks marketed as healthy are ultra-processed. They can contain maltodextrins, processed proteins and fibers, and colors. Oats, on the other hand, contain just one ingredient: oats!” experts tell The Conversation.
American Cheese
Technically, American cheese isn’t even a cheese, it’s a highly-processed cheese product. “Processed cheeses like American cheese are loaded with sodium and saturated fats, both of which can raise blood pressure levels and increase risk of stroke or heart attack,” Lori Walker told She Finds, adding that high cholesterol levels “can also be a result of consuming too much processed cheese as they contain large amounts of cholesterol-raising saturated fats.”
Canned Soups
Many canned soups are full of unhealthy ingredients, including high levels of sodium. “People love soup, but it has a day-plus of sodium in one cup,” Amit Shah, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, tells AARP. “And sodium is a really important thing to pay attention to if you have congestive heart failure, prior heart attacks or have stiffening of the heart.”
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Veggie Chips
Veggie chips are often touted as a healthy alternative to potato chips, but unfortunately they also count as a UPF. “You can gain a small amount of nutritional benefit from some of those foods, but they are still snack foods,” Julia Zumpano, registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition, tells TODAY. “You’re going to be better off eating real kale or black beans versus the chip version of them.”
Supermarket Cookies
When you bake at home, you use a limited amount of recognizable ingredients such as flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, but many store-bought cookies and pastries are packed with additives and engineered to make you eat more of them. For example, you might be satisfied eating one or two home-made cookies but want to eat far more of the ultra-processed kind, another reason UPFs can have a negative impact on health. “If you can put a food away after consuming a modest portion, it’s likely OK to have some ultra processed treats in the home. On the other hand, if eating one store-bought cookie quickly turns into eating a whole sleeve of cookies, it’s likely better to avoid having it in your home,” says Tara Schmidt, M. Ed., RDN, via the Mayo Clinic.
Flavored Yogurts
When was the last time you looked at the ingredients on your favorite flavored yogurt? “Flavored yogurts are also ultra-processed,” says registered dietitian Julie B. Kramer via The Well by Northwell. “Not surprisingly, roughly 60% of calories in the typical American diet come from ultra-processed foods, and the foods in this category that are eaten in the highest amounts are beverages and other sugary products.”
Diet Soft Drinks
Experts warn about the impact diet soft drinks have on health. “Some [ultra-processed foods] I would never consume, such as soda,” registered dietitian Jinan Banna, professor of nutrition at the University of Hawaii, told CNBC Make It. “Soda doesn’t have any nutritional value other than just calories in the form of sugar. So they’re empty calories, which don’t give us any of the nutrients that we need.”
Margarine
Margarine is not the healthy alternative to butter it was originally marketed as. “Sure, butter is creamy and spreadable, but it provides a significant source of saturated fat which in excess can lead to elevated blood cholesterol,” Zumpano says. “Margarine, made from plant-based fats and oils, is supposedly heart-healthier. However, not all margarine is created equal. Most margarines contain unhealthy plant oils in order to keep them solid.”
