4. People disagree about the definition. And they’re trying hard to pick one that includes all the crappy UPFs but not good UPFs.
This raises an important question: if we already know which foods are healthful vs. not, why are we obsessing over UPFs rather than focusing on that.
This raises an important question: if we already know which foods are healthful vs. not, why are we obsessing over UPFs rather than focusing on that.
April 30, 2026 at 2:52 PM
4. People disagree about the definition. And they’re trying hard to pick one that includes all the crappy UPFs but not good UPFs.
This raises an important question: if we already know which foods are healthful vs. not, why are we obsessing over UPFs rather than focusing on that.
This raises an important question: if we already know which foods are healthful vs. not, why are we obsessing over UPFs rather than focusing on that.
Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) and how to avoid them
February 20, 2024 at 1:53 PM
Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) and how to avoid them
The USA, number 1 consumer country of UPFs
November 18, 2025 at 11:42 PM
The USA, number 1 consumer country of UPFs
2. Degree of processing doesn’t correspond to degree of badness. Hot dogs & twinkies, lousy choices. Whole wheat bread & oat milk, just fine. All are UPFs.
Also, French fries & potato chips? Not UPFs.
All it takes is ONE counterexample to prove processing does not equal badness. We have tons.
Also, French fries & potato chips? Not UPFs.
All it takes is ONE counterexample to prove processing does not equal badness. We have tons.
April 30, 2026 at 2:52 PM
2. Degree of processing doesn’t correspond to degree of badness. Hot dogs & twinkies, lousy choices. Whole wheat bread & oat milk, just fine. All are UPFs.
Also, French fries & potato chips? Not UPFs.
All it takes is ONE counterexample to prove processing does not equal badness. We have tons.
Also, French fries & potato chips? Not UPFs.
All it takes is ONE counterexample to prove processing does not equal badness. We have tons.
An article from the American Journal of Public Health's special issue on ultra-processed foods — ie the entire reason for all this fanfare — notes that state-level efforts to define UPFs have been incoherent. The FDA already regulates food additives!
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...
June 3, 2026 at 1:01 PM
An article from the American Journal of Public Health's special issue on ultra-processed foods — ie the entire reason for all this fanfare — notes that state-level efforts to define UPFs have been incoherent. The FDA already regulates food additives!
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...
Rather than wishcasting a version of the administration that *they know does not exist,* researchers should be calling for caution.
Slow down. Clearly define UPFs, gather data on their health impacts and explore what effective regulation would look like. Don't fall for MAHA's manufactured urgency.
Slow down. Clearly define UPFs, gather data on their health impacts and explore what effective regulation would look like. Don't fall for MAHA's manufactured urgency.
June 3, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Rather than wishcasting a version of the administration that *they know does not exist,* researchers should be calling for caution.
Slow down. Clearly define UPFs, gather data on their health impacts and explore what effective regulation would look like. Don't fall for MAHA's manufactured urgency.
Slow down. Clearly define UPFs, gather data on their health impacts and explore what effective regulation would look like. Don't fall for MAHA's manufactured urgency.
Just what the doctor ordered: Brazil’s drive to ditch UPFs from hospital menus
Just what the doctor ordered: Brazil’s drive to ditch UPFs from hospital menus
Following the successful reduction of ultra-processed foods in schools, scientists and politicians hope to improve patient health with locally grown and freshly prepared meals
www.theguardian.com
May 20, 2026 at 8:35 AM
Just what the doctor ordered: Brazil’s drive to ditch UPFs from hospital menus
3. Research on UPFs is mostly also crap. Researchers us big groups that have been followed for years and try to connect the dots between UPFs and health outcomes. They generally use questionnaires that ask what you ate in the last year.
There are 2 problems with this ...
There are 2 problems with this ...
April 30, 2026 at 2:52 PM
3. Research on UPFs is mostly also crap. Researchers us big groups that have been followed for years and try to connect the dots between UPFs and health outcomes. They generally use questionnaires that ask what you ate in the last year.
There are 2 problems with this ...
There are 2 problems with this ...
I opened the study they’re referencing, and then any studies those referenced and have not found what they’re defining as UPFs.
April 30, 2026 at 2:11 PM
I opened the study they’re referencing, and then any studies those referenced and have not found what they’re defining as UPFs.
So here's the thing. All of these are true:
1. Limit your UPF consumption because most UPFs are crap.
2. It's not the processing that makes them crap. It's the garden-variety stuff like sugar, fat, and calories that make them crap.
3. Research on UPFs is also crap.
Thanks for listening.
1. Limit your UPF consumption because most UPFs are crap.
2. It's not the processing that makes them crap. It's the garden-variety stuff like sugar, fat, and calories that make them crap.
3. Research on UPFs is also crap.
Thanks for listening.
March 17, 2026 at 1:42 PM
So here's the thing. All of these are true:
1. Limit your UPF consumption because most UPFs are crap.
2. It's not the processing that makes them crap. It's the garden-variety stuff like sugar, fat, and calories that make them crap.
3. Research on UPFs is also crap.
Thanks for listening.
1. Limit your UPF consumption because most UPFs are crap.
2. It's not the processing that makes them crap. It's the garden-variety stuff like sugar, fat, and calories that make them crap.
3. Research on UPFs is also crap.
Thanks for listening.
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
UPFs are made to encourage addiction and consumption and should be regulated like tobacco, say researchers
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have more in common with cigarettes than with fruit or vegetables, and require far tighter regulation, according to a new report.
UPFs and cigarettes are engineered to encourage addiction and consumption, researchers from three US universities said, pointing to the parallels in widespread health harms that link both. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
California made history by enacting the first law in the United States to define and ultimately ban unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, from meals served to over one billion California schoolchildren annually. https://cnn.it/4ofH9zD
October 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
California made history by enacting the first law in the United States to define and ultimately ban unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, from meals served to over one billion California schoolchildren annually. https://cnn.it/4ofH9zD
NEW
Scientists find potential link between ultra-processed foods and cancer
Fatty molecules also found in UPFs seen at high levels in colorectal tumours - the world's third most common cancer type
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/15ff...
Scientists find potential link between ultra-processed foods and cancer
Fatty molecules also found in UPFs seen at high levels in colorectal tumours - the world's third most common cancer type
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/15ff...
Scientists find potential link between ultra-processed foods and cancer
Fatty molecules also found in UPFs seen at high levels in colorectal tumours
www.ft.com
December 10, 2024 at 4:13 PM
NEW
Scientists find potential link between ultra-processed foods and cancer
Fatty molecules also found in UPFs seen at high levels in colorectal tumours - the world's third most common cancer type
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/15ff...
Scientists find potential link between ultra-processed foods and cancer
Fatty molecules also found in UPFs seen at high levels in colorectal tumours - the world's third most common cancer type
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/15ff...
"Is an ultra-processed chocolate cake materially more harmful than a home-made one?"
I enjoyed contributing to this response to The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods, which outlines some key limitations in the evidence that 'ultra-processing' is specifically harmful to health.
I enjoyed contributing to this response to The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods, which outlines some key limitations in the evidence that 'ultra-processing' is specifically harmful to health.
Public health policy should be grounded in established evidence that acknowledges uncertainty: a response to The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods - BMC Medicine
Background The recent three-part Lancet series on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) argued that the displacement of traditional diets by UPFs is a major driver of poor diet quality and diet-related chronic...
link.springer.com
October 1, 2026 at 5:44 PM
"Is an ultra-processed chocolate cake materially more harmful than a home-made one?"
I enjoyed contributing to this response to The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods, which outlines some key limitations in the evidence that 'ultra-processing' is specifically harmful to health.
I enjoyed contributing to this response to The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods, which outlines some key limitations in the evidence that 'ultra-processing' is specifically harmful to health.
📣 New paper 📣
We used a systems thinking approach to map the key actors, structures, incentives, and dynamics that have led to the dominance of UPFs in population diets worldwide.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#UPFs #ultraprocessedfood #sustainablediets #sustainablefoodsystems
We used a systems thinking approach to map the key actors, structures, incentives, and dynamics that have led to the dominance of UPFs in population diets worldwide.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#UPFs #ultraprocessedfood #sustainablediets #sustainablefoodsystems
December 4, 2024 at 7:36 AM
📣 New paper 📣
We used a systems thinking approach to map the key actors, structures, incentives, and dynamics that have led to the dominance of UPFs in population diets worldwide.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#UPFs #ultraprocessedfood #sustainablediets #sustainablefoodsystems
We used a systems thinking approach to map the key actors, structures, incentives, and dynamics that have led to the dominance of UPFs in population diets worldwide.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#UPFs #ultraprocessedfood #sustainablediets #sustainablefoodsystems
There are seriously too many people arguing in bad faith in your comments. Coffee, tea, cheese and chocolate are NOT (necessarily) UPFs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_cl... Also, not wanting to eat UPFs doesn't mean you'll eat everything raw, processed food is not bad.
Nova classification - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
April 30, 2026 at 11:30 AM
There are seriously too many people arguing in bad faith in your comments. Coffee, tea, cheese and chocolate are NOT (necessarily) UPFs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_cl... Also, not wanting to eat UPFs doesn't mean you'll eat everything raw, processed food is not bad.
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
UPFs are made to encourage addiction and consumption and should be regulated like tobacco, say researchers
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:20 AM
Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food – study
"It's important to look at what's actually in the UPFs... we should aim for delicious, whole-food, plant-based meals...but ultra-processed plant-based foods generally have much better nutrition scores than meat-based"
A very good long-read about UPFs: www.bbc.com/future/artic...
A very good long-read about UPFs: www.bbc.com/future/artic...
What explains increasing anxiety about ultra-processed plant-based foods?
Vegan diets can contain more UPFs on average – but this might not be a problem.
www.bbc.com
October 12, 2024 at 12:21 PM
"It's important to look at what's actually in the UPFs... we should aim for delicious, whole-food, plant-based meals...but ultra-processed plant-based foods generally have much better nutrition scores than meat-based"
A very good long-read about UPFs: www.bbc.com/future/artic...
A very good long-read about UPFs: www.bbc.com/future/artic...
also, dear lord I am so tired of the confected nonsense around "UPFs".
October 1, 2025 at 9:18 AM
also, dear lord I am so tired of the confected nonsense around "UPFs".
A deeper dive on the nation-leading bills signed:
✅ Making whole, healthier foods easier to find by creating a label for non-ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), empowering consumers with clear, front-of-package information and improved access to healthier options through strategic, in-store placement
✅ Making whole, healthier foods easier to find by creating a label for non-ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), empowering consumers with clear, front-of-package information and improved access to healthier options through strategic, in-store placement
September 29, 2026 at 1:57 AM
A deeper dive on the nation-leading bills signed:
✅ Making whole, healthier foods easier to find by creating a label for non-ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), empowering consumers with clear, front-of-package information and improved access to healthier options through strategic, in-store placement
✅ Making whole, healthier foods easier to find by creating a label for non-ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), empowering consumers with clear, front-of-package information and improved access to healthier options through strategic, in-store placement
Junk food lovers beware!😯
New research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may also affect how the brain ages—potentially raising the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
More in Newsweek: https://ow.ly/UaaG50ZReBm #ISpyPhysiology #BrainHealth #HealthyEating 🧪
📷: iStock
New research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may also affect how the brain ages—potentially raising the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
More in Newsweek: https://ow.ly/UaaG50ZReBm #ISpyPhysiology #BrainHealth #HealthyEating 🧪
📷: iStock
September 29, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Junk food lovers beware!😯
New research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may also affect how the brain ages—potentially raising the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
More in Newsweek: https://ow.ly/UaaG50ZReBm #ISpyPhysiology #BrainHealth #HealthyEating 🧪
📷: iStock
New research suggests diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may also affect how the brain ages—potentially raising the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
More in Newsweek: https://ow.ly/UaaG50ZReBm #ISpyPhysiology #BrainHealth #HealthyEating 🧪
📷: iStock
13/n Now, that's obviously untrue. Also, the paper that the authors cite here shows that UPFs made up 61.4% of calories in 1999 and that's only increased to 67% which means that UPFs don't make sense as a major explanatory factor for any of the things that the report is worried about.
May 30, 2025 at 4:39 AM
13/n Now, that's obviously untrue. Also, the paper that the authors cite here shows that UPFs made up 61.4% of calories in 1999 and that's only increased to 67% which means that UPFs don't make sense as a major explanatory factor for any of the things that the report is worried about.