One of the strongest themes in today’s food and nutrition conversation is a growing concern about ultra-processed foods.
These are the foods that are:
- heavily packaged
- full of additives
- and designed to be eaten quickly and often
For example, think of things like sugary cereals, packaged snacks, sweetened drinks, and highly refined baked goods.
Ultra-Processed Foods and How They Affect the Body
New research keeps emerging, and public health experts now pay closer attention to how ultra-processed foods affect blood sugar, hunger, and energy levels. As a result, food guidelines now shift toward simpler, more recognizable ingredients.
- blood sugar
- hunger
- energy levels
- and long-term health
Today more people now connect food to how they feel, health experts are pushing for simpler, more recognizable ingredients. As a result, food guidelines are starting to change.
Why This Matters in Everyday Life
Ultra-processed foods often digest quickly, they can leave people feeling hungry again not long after eating. As a result, many people end up snacking more, even when they think they’ve had enough.
For example, a packaged breakfast bar may look healthy, but it often contains refined sugars and additives that spike blood sugar and fade fast. Meanwhile, meals built from whole ingredients — beans, vegetables, grains, herbs — tend to digest more slowly and help people feel steady and satisfied.
That’s why paying attention to how food is made matters just as much as what the label says. When you choose simpler foods more often, you give your body something it actually knows how to use.
In Yum’s Kitchen, we don’t do fear — we do awareness. You don’t have to be perfect. But knowing what you’re eating helps you make choices that actually support how you want to feel.
And that’s always a good thing.
In our earlier Food Watch, Food Watch: The Food Pyramid Has Changed, we looked at how national guidelines are shifting.
Food Watch: The Food Pyramid Has Changed
According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, ultra-processed foods are increasingly linked to poor health outcomes.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/ultra-processed-foods