The 10 worst ultra-processed foods you can eat
Are ultra-processed foods all as bad as each other? Find out how foods are categorised as UPFs and discover which are most damaging to your health
More than half the calories we consume in the UK are said to come from ultra-processed food (UPF). Unlike the dishes we make in our own kitchens, usually with fresh produce and storecupboard ingredients, these foods contain little or no whole foods. They are often industrially formulated, using synthetic sweeteners, colourings and other chemical preservatives and emulsifiers. They’re also more likely to contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar, and to be low in fibre.
Eating UPFs regularly has been associated with poor health and a number of illnesses – these may include obesity, cancer, and depression. However, we still can’t say with certainty what it is about these foods that may make them bad for us – is it the amount of fat, sugar and salt or the preservatives, emulsifiers and other additives typically used to make them?
What we do know is these foods are widespread in our diets (often because they’re timesaving and convenient) and cover a range of different items. So, while we can say eating UPFs is associated with adverse health outcomes, we can’t yet say UPFs cause disease.
Learn more about how foods are categorised as ultra-processed, and read on to discover more about 10 common UPFs.
Next, find out if processed food is bad for you too, 10 ways to eat less meat and why is sugar bad for us?
The 10 worst ultra-processed foods
1. Energy drinks
These legal stimulants combine sugars in the form of glucose and sucrose with ingredients like caffeine to boost metabolism and increase alertness. Although energy drinks are said to sharpen our focus and enhance performance, when consumed regularly they make the heart work harder and faster and may have serious health implications, especially when consumed by children and young people.
Read more about energy drinks.
2. Mass-produced bread
This is the type that covers most supermarket shelves and is classed as a UPF. As well as the staple bread ingredients (flour, yeast, salt and water), it typically includes additives for the purpose of speeding up the manufacturing process and extending shelf life. Examples include emulsifiers, preservatives and sugars. Mass-produced bread is said to make up as much as 11 per cent of the calories we eat, so if this is relevant to you, buying the best you can afford, with minimal additives, may make a useful reduction to the amount of UPFs you consume.
Read more about buying a healthy loaf.
3. Some breakfast cereals
Many popular cereals are classed as UPFs because they contain highly processed grains as well as additives, such as invert sugar syrup, preservatives and colourings. Check the label on your cereal to see whether it includes these ingredients. Processing grains like oats and corn reduces their fibre and nutrient content, and increases the impact they have on our blood sugar and insulin response, making them a less healthy option when compared to an equivalent bowl of minimally processed cereal, such as porridge. Although some are fortified with vitamins and minerals, certain packaged cereals are low in protein and fibre and high in sugar. They’re also a frequent source of misleading health claims.
4. Hot dogs
The combination of a steamed or boiled sausage in a partially sliced white bun has achieved iconic status. Sausages were one of the first ‘processed’ foods with frankfurters, the type used in a hot dog, typically comprising pork that has been cured, and sometimes smoked.
Current health guidelines recommend we limit our red meat intake to no more than 70g (cooked weight) per day, due to a potential link with bowel cancer. Processed meat, like sausages, are thought to carry a greater risk, as they contain additional nitrates as well as high levels of saturated fat and salt. Long-term consumption of red meat, and particularly processed meat, is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, heart disease and type 2 diabetes in both men and women.
5. Vegan ‘meat’
These highly engineered products are designed to mimic the texture, flavour and appearance of conventional meat. For example, a clever use of the carbohydrates known as ‘reducing sugars’ (such as dextrose, xylose or arabinose) and colourants can create the effect of a colour change from ‘raw’ red-pink to brown during cooking.
Other additives, like methylcellulose, are used to create a meat-like bite, while carrageenan improves the slice-ability when served cold. Flavour enhancers like monosodium glutamate as well as emulsifiers, stabilisers and fillers are also used to adjust the taste and texture of the plant protein. As these chemicals have varied effects on the body, they shouldn’t be consumed regularly.
6. Chicken nuggets
Although we might assume they’re made from lean breast meat, chicken nuggets are likely to include other parts of the bird, including tendons, skin, bone, collagen and fat. The meat content varies by brand, but is typically low, meaning that protein contribution is unlikely to match expectations. Other ingredients include starch, oil, egg powder, glucose syrup as well as stabilisers and colourings – all of which mean chicken nuggets are likely to be high in fat, sugar and salt.
7. Reformulated potato snacks
Reformulated potato snacks, such as Pringles, are made from dehydrated processed potato, refined vegetable oils, rice and wheat flour, emulsifiers, salt and colouring. Depending on their flavour, they may also include monosodium glutamate, hydrolysed protein powders and glucose syrup.
During manufacture the ‘dough’ is rolled, pressed and cut into stackable shapes; these are then fried in hot oil and coated with flavourings. The high temperature potentially generates a substance called acrylamide, exposure to which may be carcinogenic, although the findings from human studies is inconsistent.
8. Margarine
Originally developed as a cost-effective alternative to butter, using unsaturated oils rather than milk fat, margarines offer less saturated fat as well as a useful plant-based option for those following a vegan or dairy-free diet.
Margarines are a water-in-oil emulsion with added emulsifiers, salt, proteins, vitamins, colours and flavourings. Low-fat versions have similar ingredients but with the lower oil content comes a need for additional thickeners and gums to maintain that all-important spread-ability.
The manufacturing of margarine also requires a process which changes the structure of the fat molecule to make it more solid at room temperature and thus spreadable. Water and oil are not natural partners, so UK food manufacturers use this process, called interesterification.
Trials looking at how we digest, absorb and metabolise these modified fats, and if they pose wider health implications, have not been extensive enough to draw many conclusions, and have also not focused on the commercially available interesterified fats. So longer and larger human trials are required in order to fully evaluate the effects of regularly consuming margarine. However, short-term trials do suggest eating unsaturated spreads helps reduce LDLs, the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol.
9. Vegan 'cheese'
Often made from a plant-sourced, saturated fat like coconut oil, these 'cheese' alternatives rely on the addition of starch, stabilisers, colourings and flavourings to create a product that mimics real cheese. They usually contribute little (if any) protein, and no calcium. They are also typically high in fat, saturated fat and salt. Unlike other plant-based alternatives, vegan 'cheese' is not typically fortified with vitamins and minerals, and as such has a poor nutritional profile.
10. Ready meals
Most of us are short on time, so it’s tempting to fall back on shop-bought ready meals. But with convenience comes cost, and not just a financial one; these meals typically contain preservatives and other additives frequently used in UPFs to make them last longer and look and taste good. Studies report that ready meals may have higher levels of ‘free’ sugars (the type we’re advised to cut back on), and are higher in calories than the homemade equivalent. Other research suggests supermarket ready meals fall short on nutritional contribution, with many being high in saturated fat and salt.
What does this mean for my health?
UPFs are typically designed to be easily eaten, with a high calorie density and additives that tend to confuse our “I am full” trigger. This gives them a moreish, addictive quality, meaning we’re likely buy and eat more. Their main ingredients – oil, sugar, salt, flour and starches – makes UPFs high in fat, sugar and salt and low in vitamins and minerals, while also being devoid of the protective plant compounds found in many whole foods.
To help avoid the UPF trap, as well as cooking more homemade meals from scratch, be sure to check labels. If there is one or more ingredient that sounds unfamiliar, limit the space you give these foods in your shopping basket. When you do eat UPFs, choose those that contribute some nutritional benefits, like wholegrain bread or baked beans. By minimising the number of UPFs in your diet, even by swapping out one or two regularly eaten ones – such as the type of bread and breakfast cereal you eat – you may reduce their associated health risks.
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Kerry Torrens BSc. (Hons) PgCert MBANT is a BANT Registered Nutritionist® with a post graduate diploma in personalised nutrition and nutritional therapy. She is a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and a member of the Guild of Food Writers. Over the last 15 years she has been a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including Good Food.
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