What Are Ultra-Processed Foods and How Bad Are They?

The standard American diet, or SAD, lives up to its name. It’s downright depressing.

If you’re a typical American adult, more than half of your calories come from “ultra-processed foods” or UPFs. Even worse: a full two-thirds of the calories in an American teen’s diet come from ultra-processed foods.

It’s an issue – a BIG issue – because countless studies have linked ultra-processed food consumption to higher risks of:

• Obesity
• High blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Some cancers

Yes, they are hard to avoid. Smart folks specifically engineer them, so we see ultra-processed foods as budget friendly, convenient and delicious.

But what exactly are they? The Avera team of dietitians explains how these foods are categorized and how to distinguish the ultra-processed variety – spoiler alert, they have lots of ingredients you can't pronounce.

Several food-classification systems, including the NOVA system, were designed to help create four food categories, all based on level of processing. Use this guide to determine how often to include these foods in your diet.

Group 1: Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Foods

These unprocessed or minimally processed foods include things we eat exactly as they are found in nature. Some foods might be cleaned or sorted, but nothing is added. Group 1 foods sometimes are ground, dried or frozen.

Examples of group 1 foods:

Group 2: Oils, Fats, Salt and Sugar

These are processed culinary ingredients, often extracted from natural foods. Processes such as pressing, grinding, crushing foods in the Group 1 category are part of this group. They are minimally processed to create a wider variety of dishes. Fermenting is another way they are created.

Examples of group 2 foods:

Group 3: Processed Foods

Although these foods are processed, they are recognizable from their “original” food source. They are processed with the use of salt, sugar, oil, or other simple substances from groups 1 and 2. The ingredient list for each should only include two or three items.

Examples of group 3 foods:

Group 4: Ultra-Processed Foods

Here’s the stuff we eat the most of – but that we should try to avoid. These are UPFs.

These foods include industrial formulations typically of five or more ingredients.

They’ll have ingredients not commonly used in kitchens, big or small. You can’t buy them at the grocery store. Group 1 foods are either a small portion of, or even absent from, ultra-processed foods.

They include:

• Hydrolyzed proteins, modified starches and hydrogenated or “inter-esterified” oils.
• Substances that are molecularly modified – parts are rearranged chemically to imitate the taste/smell/feel of unprocessed foods. These include hydrolyzed proteins, modified starches and hydrogenated or “interesterified” oils.
• Substances added to hide undesirable qualities, including colors, flavorings and non-sugar sweeteners.
• Sequestrants, which improve the quality and stability of foods.
• Humectants that attract water from the air.
• Emulsifiers that can help products combine hard-to-mix ingredients, such as oil and water.

Examples of group 4 foods:

Is it Possible to Avoid Ultra-Processed Foods?

While health trends focus on nutrients, such as low-carb or low-fat, manufacturers easily and quickly reformulate products to fit any popular style.

To avoid these foods you'll want to cook using whole foods or minimally processed foods as much as possible.

In short:

1. Choose foods in Groups 1, 2 and 3.
2. Avoid foods in Group 4.

Remember, homemade foods don't have to be complicated. Make things using common ingredients you have in your home.

Soups, dinners with whole food ingredients like meat and vegetables, or salads are all great options. Creating meals like pizza made from scratch where you are loading it up with lean meats, cheese and lots of vegetables is a great alternative to frozen pizza. Another idea is a crock pot meal with meat such as lean pork or chicken and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and garlic. All delicious, and very good for you.

Try these recipes:

• Chicken Veggie Stew
• Tuscan Kale Soup
• Ancient Grains Bowl
• Penne and Shrimp with Burst Cherry Tomatoes