WTF Are UPFs?

Source: PxHere

Hey y’all! Looking at the title I’m sure lots of you are just as confused as I was when I first stumbled upon this acronym but trust, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t figured it out yet, UPFs are ultra-processed foods (ohhhhh…. duh). But what exactly is an ultra processed food you ask? Well, according to this Cleveland Clinic podcast, UPFs are foods that are highly processed to increase shelf life, and typically don’t have a ton of actual nutrients. Some common examples include packaged foods and sodas. Basically, any food that doesn’t come from a fairly direct source and has undergone significant industrial processing.

This processing typically comes down to adding a few different types of additives with some of the most common being emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and colorants/flavor enhancers. Each of these serve a different purpose, so let’s do a quick fly by to get the gist of what’s going on. Emulsifiers are used to help maintain texture in foods like mayo by stabilizing mixing oil and water. Be on the lookout for lecithin in your food, it’s a common emulsifier! Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and stevia are used to… you guessed it: sweeten foods. These have been linked to having some long term health effects so be careful! Preservatives (another fairly straightforward one) are used to help extend the shelf life of aka preserve the foods they are added to. Some common examples include sodium benzoate, BHA, and sulfites. Finally, colorants and flavor enhancers are used in foods to help make them look tastier and taste even tastier. Basically, companies pull out all the stops to trick you brain into wanting more, more, more! Watch out for MSG and disodium inosinate.

Your Gut

If you remember my first blog post talking about microbiology, you know all about the microbiome. Well guess what! UPFs are actively being studied to see what their effect is on the microbiome. This study published in Nutrients, details the negative impacts of UPFs on our gut microbiome. Specifically, the different additives we’ve already discussed were shown to directly disrupt the integrity of the gut microbiome. They decrease the diversity of microbiota within our gut and therefore make us unhealthier.

Diving a bit deeper into the research you can find that UPFs can directly affect some of the biological processes within our gut microbiome. For example, UPFs have been shown in studies to impact short chain fatty acid synthesis in the body. This MDPI article, details the effects of additives on short chain fatty acid synthesis. Additives have been shown to decrease short chain fatty acid synthesis which can in turn, cause internal inflammation. Yikes! So be on the lookout for additives and try to reduce your consumption.

IBS, MS, and Cancer, Oh My!

Even crazier than the general health issues that processed foods can cause, they have been linked to even more serious diseases. One of the more serious and intriguing ones to me was the link between UPFs and colorectal cancer. This PubMed article, details the specifics on how exactly the link exists, but I can give you a quick breakdown. Essentially, some of the compounds that come from nitrites and nitrates in the processing of meats has been proven to be carcinogenic. The heating processes release the carcinogenic factors that heavily increase the risk for cancer, specifically colorectal cancer.

All of these possible diseases and negative health effects of UPFs are very scary. Trust me, I also was shocked to discover all of this too. However, I do have good news for you, moderation is key. You don’t have to completely give up your favorite snacks (you should probably chill out a bit though). The main issue is that consumption of these foods is a lot of empty calories. They don’t have a ton of nutritional benefit and increase your daily calorie load significantly. Focus on whole foods, only allowing UPFs every now and then if necessary. But most importantly, stay safe! Know what is entering into your body and be aware of the effects and research surrounding it! The microbiome is incredibly important and we need to keep it safe!!!