Around half of what Americans eat is considered ultra-processed food – think pre-packaged and fast-foods. These products are often filled with unhealthy ingredients, leading to an array of health problems.

“These foods are giving you an excessive amount of sodium, fat and sugar, and not enough nutrition," says Jeanna Rich, an oncology registered dietitian with OSF Cancer Support Services. Rich says the longer the ingredient list, especially words you’ve never heard of before, the more processed the foods are.

"If it has a ton of ingredients that include additives, coloring agents or words you just don't know are true foods, it's definitely ultra-processed," Rich says.

Health risks of ultra-processed foods

While the saying “too much of a good thing is a bad thing,” may be true, too much of a bad thing is far worse.

"A lot of ultra-processed foods will have a large amount of saturated fat, also known as the 'bad fat.' That fat is linked to higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and other health issues," Rich says. "The additives, food dyes, sugar and fat combined can put us at an increased risk for developing cancer and other diseases as well." 

The link between diabetes and ultra-processed foods: a surplus of added sugars.

"What we're seeing right now, is children developing Type 2 diabetes earlier and earlier,” Rich says. “Extra added sugar is not good for blood sugar management or your immune function." Rich adds that diets high in ultra-processed foods have also been linked to obesity.

Eating foods high in sodium can lead to blood pressure issues and heart disease. There's no nutritional benefit to ultra-processed foods, Rich says, particularly when it comes to getting more fiber in our diet, which helps lower blood pressure, helps us lose weight and lessens inflammation. 

Preserving, drying, heating and curing foods is where they can become detrimental to our health. This is when preservatives get added into the foods that have no health benefits and may even have health harms in them. Many items at fast food restaurants are known to be ultra-processed because they can last a long time in their packaging. 

Hyperpalatable foods

Many foods are meant to seem appealing, and even rewarding, to eat. These are called hyperpalatable foods, and they have addictive qualities to them. Meat, ice cream, snacks and sodas headline this list. But some frozen meals and even vegetables cooked with things like cheese sauce can be added to the list as well.

"A lot of the products in these foods can act as an addictive behavior. They can release brain chemicals that make us feel good, then bring us back down," Rich says. "A lot of these foods can cause people to want to keep eating them, and it worsens their health overall." 

Don’t judge a food box by its cover

Rich says the front of product boxes can be misleading. Words like "natural," "organic," or "healthy" get thrown around a lot. She recommends you really take a good look at the ingredients list and nutrition label. 

If a product begins with the ingredient corn syrup, followed by long words you’ve never heard of before, these are unnatural ingredients you should stay away from. They also include seed oils and synthetic dyes. 

Healthier options will have ingredients like pureed fruits, vitamins and minerals. The color will also come from natural ingredients like carrots, cabbage and/or vegetable juices, not synthetic dyes which originate from petroleum.

Processed vs. Ultra-processed

Any food taken from its original form is considered processed food.

"If you're not picking an apple from a tree, or drinking milk straight from a cow, we are technically processing our food,” Rich says.

The jury’s still out on the exact definition of an ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed foods will typically have thickeners in them, like modified starches, sugar substitutes, synthetic food dyes, artificial flavors – mostly anything that you wouldn’t ever find in your kitchen.

Peanut butter

Many peanut butters are ultra-processed and have trans-fat in them. Key words to look out for: hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. The label may say zero grams trans-fat, but if the ingredient says hydrogenated on it, it will still contain small traces of trans-fat in the product, Rich says.

Healthier peanut butter options will have different nuts and seeds as the main ingredients, making it a more wholesome food. 

Sugary cereals

Sugary cereals can often be ultra-processed foods. Kellogg's Mini Wheats has brown rice syrup, corn syrup, and "other natural flavors and coloring" in it. "These are things we want to avoid, especially when we have healthier alternatives," Rich adds. 

So, what do we do?

You may be surrounded by fast food restaurants on your drive home, and the grocery store aisles are filled with ultra-processed foods, but healthier options are out there. Creating recipes with lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits and whole grains is a great start. The OSF HealthCare website has plenty of recipes for every meal, snack or dessert time you’re looking for.

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Ultra-processed food b-roll 

(Some shots show healthier options side-by-side with ultra-processed foods)

Greasy pizza, cookies, sugary drinks – you name it – junk food has a grip on many Americans including people between 50 and 80 years old.

About 13% of adults in that age group are addicted to highly processed foods (1 in every 8), according to a study by the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging. 

“It doesn't surprise me: these are the ages where people are looking to retire," says Jason Crum, a dietitian with OSF HealthCare.  "And they're looking at what they're going to eat. How quickly will it take to eat these things, cooking, and processing. People don't want to do that anymore. They're tired, they're fatigued, so they look for quick, easy things.”

More than 2,100 adults between 50-80 were polled so researchers could learn more about the unhealthy relationship with processed foods including sweets, snacks, and fast food. The most common symptoms were intense cravings, the inability to cut down on intake and signs of withdrawal that caused headaches and trouble concentrating.  

“These processed foods not only have sodium, but they also have sugar of various types," says Crum. "And those paired together instigate a hormonal response that most of us don't know how to really read and respond to. So we fill ourselves with the calories instead of the actual food or the nutrients that would make our hormones work better, so it makes the addiction stronger.”

The study found that women had a greater addiction to these foods than men, especially those in their 50s and early 60s. Older adults who were overweight or suffering from mental health issues or isolation also had a greater risk of addiction to processed foods.

“We have a disconnection between how our gut really feels and how we interpret that hormonally, but also our lifestyle, how active, how busy we are," says Crum. "We see our nurses, for example, running around for 12-14 hours a day. They don't have time to eat, but it's easy in four minutes to eat a piece of pizza and a burger and fries. And that's the disconnect between our gut and our lifestyle and how we interpret that.”

According to the study, one reason that processed foods can be addictive is how they can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain’s reward system just like the effects of nicotine and alcohol.

“For most people we emotionally eat, it’s something to distract us," adds Crum. "And we tend to go for the things that will give us that reward center in our brain, sugar rewards that center, and we look for that as a temporary fix to things.”

Instead, Crum suggests people eat more “real” foods and stay away from processed ones. Real food is unprocessed, free of chemicals and full of nutrients such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, dairy, eggs and meat, fish and poultry. Real foods are low in sugar, heart healthy, high in healthy fats, and good for your gut, among other reasons.

“The first thing to do is to ask yourself if you’re hungry," he says. "And what am I looking to eat? Do I even know what it's made of? The more real the food is, the better that's going to work for us than these processed foods. There's far less added sugar, there's far less added sodium to it. So it makes it easier for our body to use the nutrients and reduce any cravings and addictions.”

For more on nutrition and general wellness, visit OSF HealthCare. 


 

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