The Real Reason Ultra-Processed Foods Are Ruining Your Health

Hint: It’s not the chemicals.

If you have any interest at all in nutrition and have been conscious over the past five years or so, you are no doubt aware of a torrent of literature blaming a lot of health woes on ultra-processed foods.

If I were to show you some foods, for the most part you’d have a pretty good sense whether they were ultra-processed or not. You know what? Let’s try it.

The classic Oscar Meyer Weiner? Yup. Ultra-processed. It contains multiple additives like sodium lactate, added dextrose and glucose, and “mechanically separated meat”.

How about a handful of almonds?

Right again! Not ultra-processed. In fact, on the standard “NOVA” processing scale which goes from a score of 1 for unprocessed or minimally processed foods — to 4 (ultra-processed) a nice handful of almonds is a 1. Good job.