Are ultra-processed foods bad? (Or UPFs, as you’ll see them called.) If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ll have seen this said. UPF’s being blamed for pretty much everything, from weight gain to cancer to “ruining our health.” Bread, yoghurt, cereal, plant milks, even baked beans have all been thrown into the “avoid at all costs” pile.
It’s everywhere at the moment, and it’s causing a LOT of confusion for the people I work with. It creates fear around completely safe foods.
So let’s actually unpack this. What ultra-processed foods are, what the research does (and really doesn’t) tell us, when UPFs can genuinely be helpful, and why food has never been about nutrition alone.
What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
The term comes from something called the NOVA classification, which sorts food into four groups based on how much it’s been processed, rather than how nutritious it is.
- Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: fruit, vegetables, eggs, plain meat, oats
- Processed culinary ingredients: oils, butter, sugar, salt
- Processed foods: tinned vegetables, cheese, a fresh loaf from the bakery
- Ultra-processed foods: foods made mostly from substances extracted from whole foods, plus additives, that have been industrially formulated. Think breakfast cereals, plant-based milks, flavoured yoghurts, protein bars, ready meals… and yes, biscuits and crisps too.
Notice how broad that last category is. It includes foods that are genuinely useful sources of fibre, protein, calcium and iron. This is one of the biggest issues with how UPFs are talked about online: the category is treated as one single “bad” group, regardless of what they’re actually made of, how they’re used, or what role they play in someone’s day.
So Are Ultra-Processed Foods Actually Bad For You?
What Does the Evidence Really Say?
There is real research here, and it’s a legitimate area of nutrition science, I’m not dismissing it. Some studies have found links between very high UPF intake and poorer health outcomes. But a few things get lost when this hits the headlines:
Much of it is observational. That means it can show a link, but not prove that UPFs themselves are the cause. Income, access to fresh food, and overall diet quality all tangle in there too. The category is so broad that comparing a supermarket meal deal to a tin of lentils under the same label doesn’t tell us much. Nutrition science is complex and still evolving. It rarely fits into a headline.
None of this means diet quality is irrelevant, or that UPFs deserve a completely free pass. It just means “processed = bad, unprocessed = good” is a much shakier line than social media makes it sound.
When Ultra-Processed Foods Can Actually Be Helpful
This is the part that often gets left out of the conversation entirely. UPFs aren’t just something to tolerate, they can genuinely support health, and here’s how:
They’re often more affordable and last longer. Tinned, frozen and packaged foods are often cheaper and last longer than fresh alternatives, which matters hugely for food security.
UPF’s save time and energy you might not have. Not everyone has the time, energy, mobility or capacity to cook from scratch every day, and that’s completely okay. A jarred pasta sauce or a ready meal on a busy or low-energy day is not a failure. It’s just dinner.
They can genuinely be the more supportive choice in eating disorder recovery. Foods like fortified cereals, flavoured yoghurts, protein shakes and shelf-stable snacks are often lower in fibre and volume, and higher in energy density, which can make them genuinely easier to tolerate for someone whose gut and appetite cues need time to recover. There is nothing “less healthy” about reaching for these in recovery, sometimes they’re exactly what a body needs, and that’s worth hearing clearly: no food is off limits, and no food is “better” simply because it’s less processed.
UPF’s are often fortified with nutrients people struggle to get enough of. Iron, calcium, iodine, vitamin D, are all commonly added to things like cereals and plant milks.
And sometimes they’re just what the moment needs. Food isn’t just fuel, and sometimes the “processed” biscuit at a birthday party or the shop-bought cake is exactly what a celebration calls for. It is allowed to just be nice sometimes.
Food was never just about nutrition
I say this to almost every single client I see: nutrition is one part of what food is for, not the whole point of it.
Food is also about:
💫 Culture and identity: So many meals carry family history, tradition and heritage
💫 Connection: Sharing food is one of the most fundamental forms of human bonding
💫 Convenience and capacity: Not every meal needs to be from scratch to be “good enough”
💫 Pleasure: Enjoying what you eat is a legitimate, valuable part of eating, not a guilty extra
💫 Comfort & celebration: Birthday cake, holiday food, the snack you always have at the cinema
When we boil food down to “processed vs unprocessed,” all of that disappears. And honestly, it just becomes another version of diet culture. Another way to attach morality to what’s on your plate, another thing to feel guilty about. No food is good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, clean or dirty. It’s just food, and it can mean a hundred different things depending on the day, the person, and the moment.
A Gentler Way to Think About UPFs
Rather than asking “is this food ultra-processed?”, it can be more helpful to ask:
Does this food fit into an overall varied, adequate diet?
Is this choice supporting my energy, my day, or my recovery right now?
Am I able to enjoy this without guilt?
Does this food work for my current life, budget, time and capacity?
There is room in a balanced diet for wholefoods and convenience foods, for scratch-cooked meals and shop-bought ones, for the fortified cereal and the fresh fruit. None of it needs to be at war with the other.
Conclusion: So, Are Ultra-Processed Foods Bad?
Ultra-processed foods aren’t one single villain, they’re a huge, messy category that covers an enormous range of everyday foods. The evidence is interesting, but it’s nowhere near black and white, and it definitely doesn’t support fearing entire aisles of the supermarket, or any one food.
And nutrition was never the whole story. Culture, connection, convenience, and enjoyment all matter too. And that’s not something to feel guilty about.
If you’d like more personalised support around food, nutrition, or recovery, feel free to book a free call with us here.
Written by: Jennifer Low (Registered Dietitian)
References
- Barbaresko J, Bröder J, Conrad J, et al. 2024. Ultra-processed food consumption and human health: an umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr.
- British Dietetic Association (2025). Are all UPF’s created equal? BDA.uk.com. Available at: https://www.bda.uk.com/specialist-groups-and-branches/public-health-specialist-group/previous-webinars/are-all-upfs-created-equal.html.
- British Nutrition Foundation (2024). Ultra-processed foods. Nutrition.org.uk. Available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/creating-a-healthy-diet/ultra-processed-foods/.
- Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, et al. 2024. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ.
- Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, et al. 2019. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition
- Sadler, C. R., et al. (2021). Processed food classification: Conceptualisation and challenges. Trends in Food Science & Technology.