by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mercola:
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- A 2024 systematic review of the literature confirms the results of past studies: the higher your exposure to ultraprocessed food, the higher your risk of adverse health outcomes, including 32 health parameters
- Exposure to ultraprocessed food had a dose-dependent response on metabolic, cancer, mental, respiratory, heart and gastrointestinal conditions, as well as declining cognition, obesity and premature death
- Recognizing the link between how you feel and ultraprocessed products may be challenging as one physician found when he experimentally increased his energy intake to 80% for four weeks and experienced multiple changes, including feeling 10 years older, which he didn’t attribute to his diet until he stopped eating it
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- Americans eat more ultraprocessed products than any other country, and according to one survey, people would eat more and pay more if the products were “healthier” and promised benefits such as sleeping better, having more energy or improving brain function
- Data show 73% of the food at the grocery store is ultraprocessed. Don’t be fooled by lab-made, plant-based, pseudo-foodstuffs promoted by the industry as healthy. Change one ingredient at a time, and start with linoleic acid, one of the most destructive ingredients in your diet
A 2024 systematic review1 of the literature confirmed what multiple studies have shown — the higher your intake of ultraprocessed food, the higher your risk of adverse health outcomes. To fully appreciate what the study says and your risk, it’s important to know exactly what ultraprocessed foods are.
There are often misunderstandings about which foods fall into processed and ultraprocessed categories. For example, when green beans are canned, they become processed food, but they are still a far cry from a bag of potato chips or a box of donuts — examples of ultraprocessed foods.
NOVA Classification
Several systems are used to classify food according to the level of processing. The NOVA classification is the most common, though there is some debate2 over the accuracy of how foods are classified by evaluators, even when information on the ingredients is available. The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports NOVA food categories this way:3
- NOVA1 — “Unprocessed or minimally processed foods,” primarily the edible parts of plants or animals that have been taken straight from nature or that have been minimally modified/preserved.
- NOVA2 — “Culinary ingredients,” such as salt, oil, sugar or starch, which are produced from NOVA1 foods.
- NOVA3 — “Processed foods,” such as freshly baked breads, canned vegetables or cured meats, obtained by combining NOVA1 and NOVA2 foods.
- NOVA4 — “Ultraprocessed foods,” such as ready-to-eat industrially formulated products “made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little if any intact Group 1 food.”
From these categories, it’s evident that NOVA1 and NOVA2 foods are those that you buy from the produce aisle or raw meat section, bring home and cook in your kitchen. NOVA3 and NOVA4 are typically foodstuffs purchased in the center aisles at the grocery store or a convenience store.
These consumables typically have a long shelf life, don’t need refrigeration, cannot be reproduced at home and have more than five ingredients, some of which you may not be able to pronounce.
Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Dozens of Health Problems
The 2024 analysis,4 which included 45 unique pooled analyses and 9,888,373 participants, found direct associations between 32 health parameters and exposure to ultraprocessed food. These health outcomes included metabolic, cancer, mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and all-cause mortality.
There was a direct association between the higher number of ultraprocessed foods and a higher incidence of heart disease-related mortality and Type 2 diabetes. Anxiety disorders were also highly correlated with ultraprocessed food intake, and the researchers found highly suggestive evidence that ultraprocessed foods increased all-cause mortality, Type 2 diabetes and depression.
The research was prepared by an international team from Ireland, France, Australia and the U.S. using the NOVA system. They wrote:
“These products are characterized as industrial formulations primarily composed of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance and durability, with minimal to no inclusion of whole foods.”
A 2022 paper5 noted that a food product is not simply the sum of the nutrients and that “Human diets are progressively incorporating larger quantities of industrially processed foods.” According to this recent study and others, this increasing exposure is contributing to rising rates of chronic disease and illness in the population. Just some of the other health conditions associated with ultraprocessed products include:
•Declining cognition — Research suggests that a daily intake of sweets and fatty snacks can change the way we “learn, remember and feel.”6 Research presented at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference7 showed that people who ate 20% of their diet from breakfast cereal, frozen food and soda had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of decline in executive function.
•Obesity — A 2023 eight-week interventional study found a direct effect on neurobehavioral adaptation leading to an increased risk of overeating and weight gain.8 The senior study author, Dana M. Small, Ph.D. commented:9
“Adding one unhealthy snack per day to your diet changes the way your brain learns about rewards. More importantly, it does so in a way that could promote overeating. This means that even in individuals with no intrinsic or genetic risk for obesity, exposure to an unhealthy diet can produce that risk.”
A 2019 study10 compared global trends and sales of ultraprocessed food and drink and found that with an increased volume of sales per capita came a rise in population-level body mass index trajectories.
•Cancers — A 2023 study11 from the Imperial College London evaluated diets of 197,426 people over 10 years and found those who ate more ultraprocessed foods had a greater risk of developing any type of cancer, specifically ovarian and breast cancers.
Consumption was also associated with an increased risk of dying from cancer. Each 10% increase was linked with a 2% increase in incidence of diagnosis and a 6% increased risk of cancer mortality.
•Premature death — A 2022 study12 noted that consumption of ultraprocessed foods in Brazilian adults ranged from 13% to 21% of their total energy intake. Evaluation of data showed that 10.5% of all premature deaths could be attributed to the consumption of ultraprocessed food.
Based on information from the featured study if there is a dose-dependent response to consuming ultraprocessed food, it’s likely that eating more junk food would result in a higher percentage of premature deaths.
•More chronic diseases — A systematic review and meta-analysis of 43 observational studies13 found eating ultraprocessed food is also associated with an increased risk of wheezing, heart disease, frailty, irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia, in addition to many of the chronic illnesses already mentioned.
