Ultra-processed foods constitute 70% of packaged foods in the US and account for 60% of the average American’s caloric intake. Ultra-processed foods include such foods as soda, preserved meat, and packaged snacks are foods that are so processed that they contain almost zero healthy whole foods. Due to the unnaturalness of the food, eating such substances have physiological and biological consequences on our physical and mental health.
“The ultra-processing of food depletes its nutritional value and also increases the number of calories, as ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, saturated fat and salt, while low in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals,” said author Dr. Eric Hecht.
A recent study published in Public Health Nutrition from researchers at Florida Atlantic University found strong links between consuming ultra-processed foods to poor mental health outcomes.
For their study, they analyzed 10,359 adults from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which included data of the participants’ food diaries and mental health surveys. Food quality was determined based on the NOVA food classification to determine rating of the food as unprocessed/minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed food, and ultra-processed foods. NOVA is a grading system that has been adopted by the United Nations.
For their results, they found that those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods compared to those who consumed the least had significant increases in mental health outcomes including more depression, anxiety, and days of feeling mentally unwell. They also had lower rates of reporting days of zero depression or anxiety.
This isn’t hard. The science has been done. Eat whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods for improved mental health outcomes including less depression and anxiety as these foods are full of the nutrients that ultra-processed foods are almost completely devoid of. One should even consider food that required fortification of nutrients lost in the processing processes to be an unhealthy calorie source.
EM Hecht et al. Cross-sectional examination of ultra-processed food consumption and adverse mental health symptoms. Public Health Nutrition (2022). DOI: 10.1017/S1368980022001586
