Here are eight ultra-processed foods to cut from your shopping basket for good

The worst ultra-processed foods offenders include processed cheese, vegan 'meat' burgers, and sugary drinks

Compared with natural food, UPFs can come packed with additives, colourings and preservatives typically containing a minimum five ingredients.

We all know by now that consuming too much ultra-processed food (UPF) is bad for us. Eating a lot of the pre-packaged foods with lengthy ingredient lists has previously been linked to obesity and a host of health conditions, but a damning report by a team of international researchers led by scientists from Deakin University in Australia in the BMJ blamed UPFs for raising the risk of 32 harmful health outcomes including cancer, diabetes, depression and heart disease. 

Their study of nearly 10m people found that those who ate the most UPFs on a regular basis to be more at risk of conditions including Type 2 diabetes and cancer and were at a 21% greater risk of dying young and a 50% increased risk of dying from heart disease. A high consumption of UPF was also associated with more mental health disorders, including a 22% greater depression risk and about 50% increased risk of anxiety and poor sleep patterns.