Contributing more than 50% of our calorie intake, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) not only dominate the headlines, they fill our plates too. UPFs are foods that are engineered to be convenient, have a long shelf life and are often hyperpalatable, making us eat them on repeat.
UPFs can be high in fat, sugar and salt and may contain ingredients you wouldn’t use in your own cooking, such as emulsifiers, stabilisers and preservatives. A common rule of thumb is that a long ingredient list featuring additives, flavourings, emulsifiers or ingredients rarely used in home cooking may indicate it’s a UPF.
All that said, not all UPFs are considered poor dietary choices – it’s this confusing message that adds to our frustration when we’re trying to eat more healthily. The problem is there are a lot of nuances when it comes to UPFs, not least because the most widely used definition (the NOVA classification) is based on the nature and extent of processing a food undergoes, rather than its nutritional contribution.
The NOVA system classifies foods into four groups, ranging from unprocessed to ultra-processed. However, it’s important to recognise that processing itself is not inherently bad. Simple procedures such as chopping, boiling, freezing and canning are forms of processing that enhance food safety, extend shelf life and reduce wastage.
The UPF issue arises when aspects of a food are fundamentally changed; for example the food structure may be modified to create a food that is ‘ready-to-eat’ or additives are used to extend shelf life or to make a product more appealing. These techniques result in some surprising staples being categorised as UPFs, such as low-fat, flavoured yogurt, wholemeal sliced bread, infant formula and some varieties of houmous.
Cutting down on UPFs
Concerns over UPFs have arisen because a growing body of research links higher consumption with type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, some cancers and poorer mental health.
However, to date, much of this evidence is observational, meaning it cannot prove that UPFs directly cause these conditions. Researchers are working to understand whether the risks arise from the processing itself, the nutritional profile of many UPFs or a combination of factors.
UPFs are ubiquitous in our diets, making it difficult for most of us to eliminate them completely. That said, increasing our awareness and reducing our intake will pay dividends. When you next do your weekly shop consider the UPFs you buy regularly, and aim to replace them with easy swaps.
These include: packaged breakfast cereal for jumbo oats; cheese crackers for oat cakes; jarred sauce for passata; crisps for plain popcorn or unsalted nuts; chocolate hazelnut spread for 100% nut butter; flavoured yoghurt for plain yoghurt.
When you’re short of time it’s all too easy to fall back on ready meals. Instead, stock your shelves with these time-saving staples that can form the base of several quick and satisfying meals: canned beans; canned tomatoes; tinned fish; frozen vegetables; frozen berries and fruit; frozen herbs; and frozen rice.
Most of us opt for UPFs because of busy schedules. If possible, devote an hour at the weekend to batch cook a soup and a sauce or an all-in-one dish such as lasagne. If all else fails, there are some meals that can be ready in less than it takes to order a take-away, including stir-fries and omelettes.
