It’s hard to avoid ultra-processed foods. Boxed mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, frozen dinners, sugary cereals, pepperoni sticks — they’re everywhere, filling most of the shelves at the grocery store and making up more than half of the calories we consume in the United States.

These products are manufactured for convenience, affordability, long shelf lives, and flavor profiles that keep us coming back for more. They exist to make our lives easier — but, unfortunately, not healthier.

Should you avoid them? How can you recognize them? Here are answers to some of the questions we’re hearing from patients.

Processed food vs. ultra-processed food – what’s the difference?

When does a processed food become ultra-processed?

To put it simply, any food that has been changed from its natural form – whether it’s broccoli that’s been frozen, tuna that’s been canned, or peanuts that have been whipped into peanut butter – has been processed. With minimal processing, food goes through very few chemical changes, so its nutritional value remains intact.

Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are those that take the processing to a much higher level. They combine different components of foods and chemicals to create a “food product,” such as veggie chips, fruit roll-ups, spray cheese, and sugary protein bars and desserts. UPFs are subjected to physical and chemical changes that decrease their nutritional value. They often contain preservatives, stabilizers and artificial ingredients that are difficult to recognize or even to pronounce.

What’s the problem with UPFs?

Eating higher amounts of ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, is consistently correlated with higher risks of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases and other health problems. Some contributing factors:

• UPFs tend to be very energy dense, which means they pack more calories, with less nutrition, into a smaller amount of food. 
• Flavor enhancers make these products hard to resist, so we often overeat them.
• UPFs often are very low in fiber, so we absorb them quickly, our blood sugar spikes, and we’re hungry again sooner.
• Chemicals in UPFs feed the harmful bacteria in our gut, rather than the beneficial bacteria that feed on fiber.

For all of these reasons, it’s best to minimize these foods in your diet wherever you can.

How can you avoid ultra-processed foods?

As a motivational strategy, we encourage our patients to reflect on the total cost of eating UPFs, including the costs to your health, weight, diabetes management and energy levels. Try to avoid UPFs for a few weeks, and note the changes in your body weight, energy, mood, and feelings of hunger and fullness.

Four shopping strategies can help you keep UPFs to a minimum in your grocery cart:

• Plan ahead to reduce your need for quick convenience foods.
• Shop from a list that includes mostly whole and minimally processed foods and ingredients.
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where the fresh foods are stocked, and avoid the aisles of processed (shelf-stable) foods.
• Avoid buying packaged foods with more than five ingredients, or with ingredients that you don’t recognize.

How can you balance or replace ultra-processed foods?

Start with your snacks: Avoid snacking on UPFs, like chips and crackers, by themselves. Instead, combine (or replace) them with whole or minimally processed foods. Here are some tasty snack combos:

• Turkey, hummus and lettuce roll-ups
• Rice cakes with avocado and everything-but-the-bagel seasoning
• Beef jerky and snap peas
• Cucumber and tuna bites
• Prosciutto, tomato and mozzarella skewers

Dish up one serving: You’re less likely to overeat highly processed foods if you dish out one serving (check the package for serving size), put the rest away, and balance your serving with a fresh vegetable, fruit or salad.

DIY: To replace UPF products that you enjoy, look for healthy recipes and experiment with recreating them for yourself.

Get it delivered: Along with convenience, many meal-delivery services now prioritize whole and minimally processed ingredients.

Grow your own: Research shows that when we grow our own vegetables, the whole family is more likely to eat and enjoy them.