Let’s be honest—more than 50% of the calories Americans consume come from ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Even more concerning: kids’ UPF intake has surged to nearly 62%. These aren’t just “junk snacks”—they’re engineered, addictive products loaded with artificial flavors, preservatives, and unhealthy fats. This diet shift isn’t accidental—it’s a systemic issue deeply impacting our health and fitness aspirations.
What Counts as “Ultra-Processed”?
To navigate the noise, we use the widely accepted NOVA classification, which divides foods into four groups:
Group 1: Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
Unprocessed foods are the edible parts of plants, animals, algae and fungi along with water. This group also includes minimally processed foods, which are unprocessed foods modified through industrial methods such as the removal of unwanted parts, crushing, drying, fractioning, grinding, pasteurization, non-alcoholic fermentation, freezing, and other preservation techniques that maintain the food’s integrity and do not introduce salt, sugar, oils, fats, or other culinary ingredients.- Group 2: Processed culinary ingredients
Processed culinary ingredients are derived from group 1 foods or else from nature by processes such as pressing, refining, grinding, milling, and drying. - Group 3: Processed foods
Processed foods are relatively simple food products produced by adding processed culinary ingredients (group 2 substances) such as salt or sugar to unprocessed (group 1) foods. Processed foods are made or preserved through baking, boiling, canning, bottling, and non-alcoholic fermentation. They often use additives to enhance shelf life, protect the properties of unprocessed food, prevent the spread of microorganisms, or make them more enjoyable. Group 4: Ultra-processed foods
Industrial formulations with ingredients you’d never use at home (e.g., flavored sodas, packaged snacks, fast food). UPFs are designed to be highly palatable and incredibly convenient, making them hard to avoid. Processes and ingredients here are designed to create highly profitable (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenient (ready-to-(h)eat or to drink), tasteful alternatives to all other Nova food groups and to freshly prepared dishes and meals.
Why Ultra-Processed Foods Harm Us
1. Weight Gain & Appetite Hijacking
Eating UPFs means consuming 500 extra calories daily on average, contributing to persistent weight gain. Their addictive nature skews hunger signaling—leaving you always craving more.
2. Chronic Disease Acceleration
Studies show a 12% higher type 2 diabetes risk, elevated cancer rates, and a 15% rise in overall mortality per 10% increase in UPF consumption.
3. Impact on Children
With children consuming excessive UPFs, they’re growing up with compromised metabolic health—setting a dangerous foundation for the future.
A Tiny Shift Can Make a Big Difference
In the past decade, adults cut UPF intake from 55.8% to 53%, and youth dropped from 66% to 61.9% of calories—small declines, but meaningful.
Not All “Processed” Foods Are Bad
A Heart Association report highlights UPFs that can be healthier options: whole-grain cereals, plain yogurt, and low-sodium canned beans. The goal: lean towards minimally processed nourishment, not perfection.
9 Smart Food Swaps to Try Today
Soda → Sparkling water
Instant oatmeal → Oats with fruit & nuts
Packaged cakes → Fresh fruit and nut mix
White bread → Whole grain or seed-based slices
Books for Deeper Understanding
Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food
A manifesto to change how you eat and how you think about the human body.
It’s not you, it’s the food.
In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. The solutions don’t lie in willpower, personal responsibility, or exercise. You’ll find no diet plan in this book―but join Chris as he undertakes a powerful self-experiment that made headlines around the world: under the supervision of colleagues at University College London he spent a month eating a diet of 80 percent UPF, typical for many children and adults in the United States. While his body became the subject of scientific scrutiny, he spoke to the world’s leading experts from academia, agriculture, and―most important―the food industry itself. But more than teaching him about the experience of the food, the diet switched off Chris’s own addiction to UPF.
Buy now at Amazon.com
Metabolical
Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist who has long been on the cutting edge of medicine and science, challenges our current healthcare paradigm which has gone off the rails under the influence of Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government.
Metabolical weaves the interconnected strands of nutrition, health/disease, medicine, environment, and society into a completely new fabric by proving on a scientific basis a series of iconoclastic revelations.
Making the case that food is the only lever we have to effect biochemical change to improve our health, Lustig explains what to eat based on two novel criteria: protect the liver, and feed the gut. He insists that if we do not fix our food and change the way we eat, we will continue to court chronic disease, bankrupt healthcare, and threaten the planet. But there is hope: this book explains what’s needed to fix all three.
Buy now at Amazon.comKitchen Tools to Support Healthier Choices
Efficient tools make it easier to stay off the ultra-processed track:
Vegetable Chopper
SAFER SLICER: Safety mandolin slicer for any cook. Sharp hidden blade Slicing is fast, uniform, and easy to set up and clean up, and does not need to glove up or change the blade to use it, This is definitely an upgrade replacement your cooking daily.
Buy now at Amazon.com
Smart Food Kitchen Scale
Smart Food Kitchen Scale with Nutritional Calculator, Free App with 19 Nutrients Tracking, Calorie, Marco, Digital Weight Grams and Ounces for Weight Loss, Premium Stainless Steel, 22lb.
Buy now at Amazon.com
Final Thoughts
UPFs aren’t just frequent—they’re pervasive. But remember, every smart swap, every well-equipped kitchen, and each step toward whole foods gives you power over your own health story.
Have you felt the difference after limiting UPFs? Share your experience or favorite healthy alternative below. Also, let us know what health or nutrition topic you’d like Max to explore next—we’re listening!
