A major review published in late 2025 put ultra-processed food back in the headlines. A series of papers in The Lancet, drawing on more than a hundred long-term studies, concluded that diets high in ultra-processed food are linked to harm across every major organ system in the body. One of the researchers called it a "seismic" threat to public health. Here is what the study found, what it does and does not prove, and what it means for how you eat.
First, what counts as ultra-processed?
Not all processing is bad. Freezing vegetables, milling flour, drying fruit, these are processing too, and they are fine. Ultra-processed food is a specific category: industrially made products built largely from substances you would not find in a home kitchen, things like protein isolates, modified starches, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, colours and flavourings. Think packaged snacks and crisps, fizzy drinks, most breakfast cereals, ready meals, mass-produced bread and a lot of "diet" and protein bars. The giveaway is usually a long ingredients list full of names you do not recognise.
This matters because ultra-processed food is now the bulk of what many of us eat. In both the UK and US, more than half of the average person's daily calories come from it.
What the study actually found
This was not one small experiment. Forty-three scientists from six continents spent years reviewing more than 100 long-term studies covering close to 10 million people. Across that evidence they found ultra-processed food linked to more than 30 negative health outcomes, spread across the whole body:
- Heart and circulation: higher risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Metabolism: higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Liver: links to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Brain and mood: associations with anxiety, depression and even Parkinson's disease.
- Other systems: links to certain cancers, kidney problems and early death.
Of the 104 long-term studies they examined, 92 reported a higher risk of one or more chronic conditions. A separate US analysis went further still, tying ultra-processed food to more than 124,000 preventable deaths over a two-year period.
An honest word about what this proves
It is worth being straight about the science. Most of this research is observational, which means it shows a strong and consistent association between eating a lot of ultra-processed food and getting ill, but it cannot prove that the food is the sole cause. People who eat more ultra-processed food often differ in other ways too. That said, when this many studies, across this many people, all point the same direction, the pattern is hard to wave away. The researchers were clear that the weight of evidence now justifies treating ultra-processed food as a serious public health issue, not a fad worry.
So what do you actually do about it?
The encouraging part is that the fix is not complicated or expensive. You do not need a perfect diet or a cupboard full of supplements. You just need to shift the balance towards food that has had less done to it. A few simple moves:
- Read the ingredients, not the health claims on the front. A short list of recognisable ingredients is a good sign.
- Lean on single-ingredient staples: oats, rice, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, plain yoghurt.
- Cook a little more from scratch. It does not have to be elaborate; a pot of porridge or a tray of roast veg counts.
- Be wary of products that market themselves as healthy. Plenty of "high-protein" and "low-sugar" snacks are still ultra-processed.
- Make swaps, not sacrifices. Trade the flavoured cereal for oats and fruit, the snack bar for nuts, the fizzy drink for sparkling water.
Whole Food Earth Approach
This is the thinking behind everything we stock: real, single-ingredient food with nothing hidden in it. Our range is built around exactly the kind of staples this research points you towards, organic grains, seeds, nuts, pulses, fruit and plant powders that are simply the food itself, dried or milled and nothing more. You can read every ingredient because there is usually only one. Eating well does not mean eating joylessly; it mostly means eating food that still looks like food.
The latest science is a useful nudge rather than a reason to panic. Crowd your plate with simple, whole ingredients, keep the heavily processed stuff as the occasional treat it was always meant to be, and your whole body, every organ of it, stands to benefit.
Note: This article summarises published research for general information and is not medical advice. If you have specific health concerns, please speak to a qualified professional.
