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.

As the term suggests, UPFs are usually highly refined and mass-produced using industrial scale processing which can involve separating whole foods into constituents of fats and sugar then recombining them into an entirely different product that is often ready-made or ready-to-eat. Compared with natural food, they can come packed with additives, colourings, and preservatives typically containing a minimum five ingredients, some of which you might not even recognise including food dyes and flavour enhancers. Designed to appeal to our tastebuds, many UPFs are also often high in calories, sodium, and saturated fat — all enemies of heart health and the waistline.

“Unlike minimally processed or fresh foods, UPFs tend to lack fibre, healthy fats, and natural nutrients that help to keep us healthy but do contain high amounts of added sugars, salt and flavourings,” says dietitian Orla Walsh. “Their consumption has become a health concern as studies have shown strong associations between diets high in UPFs and weight gain, poor heart health, digestive issues and a possible increased risk of some cancers.”

If a product tastes salty or highly flavoured, it is best avoided. Picture: Julien Behal/PA Wire

But what are the worst offenders? Here are eight foods that should be ousted from your shopping basket for good:

PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS

There is compelling evidence that eating less processed red meat — including ham, sausage, and bacon will reduce the risk of bowel cancer, the second most common cancer in men in Ireland and the third most common cancer in women after non-melanoma skin cancer. Processing meat typically involves adding the preservatives nitrates which have been shown to produce chemicals that damage DNA and increase bowel cancer risk. According to the Word Cancer Research Fund, most processed red meat also contains a substance called haem that can trigger the formation of cancer-causing compounds which damage the lining of the bowel. Health chiefs in Ireland recommend consuming no more than 70g of processed meat a day, but better still is to cut these products out.

SUGARY BREAKFAST CEREALS

Sweetened breakfast cereals have long been on the naughty list because of the added sugar and low fibre, with research at Queen Mary University of London showing that some cereals comprise one-third of their weight or more (³33.3g/100g) from sugar or 8 teaspoons per 100g. To this we should now add any breakfast cereal that is artificially coloured, shaped or flavoured, all of which suggest industrial processing. Stick instead to minimally processed and sweetened cereals such as porridge oats and Shredded Wheat Original.

READY-MEALS

Ready-meal consumption in Ireland is reportedly growing at an extraordinary rate, according to Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, with figures from Kantar showing a 19.1% rise in recent years as more people choose to buy them for convenience. This is despite concerns about these UPF meals being high in salt, sugar, fat, and additives. Cook from scratch if you can.

VEGAN ‘MEAT’ BURGERS

Designed to appeal to our tastebuds, many UPF products are also often high in calories, sodium and saturated fat — all enemies of heart health and the waistline.

Switching to a plant-based diet does not mean that all the foods on offer are natural and wholesome. Vegan ‘meats’ — such as fake turkey and faux burgers or steak pies — are often highly processed with salt and flavourings added to enhance the flavour. One survey by British consumer campaign group Action on Salt showed 28% of all vegan meat products surveyed contained worrying amounts of sodium.

PROCESSED CHEESE

Cheeses produced by traditional methods provide valuable protein, calcium, and vitamins, including A and B12 and, in the case of fermented varieties, are good for gut health. However, ultra-processed cheese slices and squares typically contain only about 60% real cheese mixed with emulsifying agents and often other ingredients such as vegetable oils, ingredients, extra salt, food colouring and sugar. Be sure to check packaged cheese labels.

FLAVOURED CORN CHIPS

Some plain salted snacks can be classed as non-UPF. However, many varieties of corn tortilla chips, for example, do not resemble natural corn in the slightest, with the nutrients and insoluble fibre the plant contains replaced with a host of additives, flavour enhancers, and emulsifiers. If a product tastes salty or highly flavoured, it is best avoided.

FLAVOURED YOGHURTS

Last year a survey found that 53% of yoghurts on sale contain four cubes or more of sugar — equivalent to more than half of a child’s daily sugar allowance. Even some plain yoghurts verge into UPF territory if they contain thickeners such as pectin. A good rule of thumb is that the further removed from natural yoghurt a product is in terms of taste and appearance, the more likely it is to be packed with additives, sugar or sweeteners that mean it is ultra-processed and best left on the shelf.

SUGARY DRINKS

Squashes, cordials and fizzy drinks typically contain sugar or sweeteners, flavouring and colouring alongside other ingredients but nothing much in the form of nutrients. There is evidence that too many carbonated drinks contribute to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and raised blood pressure.

In turn, these are risk factors for a stroke. Artificially sweetened diet drinks are no better, with sweeteners negatively impacting vascular health and presenting the same risk.

“As a doctor and as someone who has researched the risk of stroke, I would encourage people to avoid or minimise their consumption of fizzy and fruit drinks, and to consider switching to water instead,” said
Andrew Smyth, professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Galway and lead author on the paper published in the Journal of Stroke.