Are UPFs really "addictive"? Do they cause chronic disease? Plus: San Francisco's lawsuit against Big Food, what actually shapes health outcomes, and why we need to blame systems—not snacks.
I have to chuckle when I think about the fact that for me consuming (almost) exclusively UPF means I am eating “healthier” than ever and “healthier” than many Americans. With (then undiagnosed) ARFID I just kind of ate whatever I could manage regardless of nutrient content. I often lacked protein in my meals greatly. Then I about quit eating and started working with an amazing RD. Now almost exclusively drinking Boost Very High Calorie, I’m finally getting the nutrients my body needs. And when I do eat solid foods, the predictability of UPF is very helpful!
Thank you so much for sharing this, Karin! It's SO important, and often missed entirely by sweeping all-or-nothing claims about UPFs. I am so so glad you've found food that feels safe, kind, and reliable. You deserve that. We all do!
Thanks for this post. I’d like to hear more about “They also represent safety and stability for people with eating disorders, neurodivergence, disabilities, illness, and so much more.” I’m recovering from an ED and rely heavily on processed because I can’t seem to muster the energy to cook. Is this an example of
Hi Melissa! Yes, exactly this. Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️
In eating-disorder recovery, it’s so important to have food you can reliably eat. When energy, executive functioning, or capacity are low, processed foods provide consistency, predictability, and enough nourishment to keep recovery moving. That’s deeply self-compassionate support.
Regular, adequate intake drives recovery. Not cooking from scratch. Not “optimization”. Just eating enough, consistently. You’re doing a really beautiful thing for yourself! (And this will extend far beyond recovery, too! We all deserve ease.)
I just read an interview with Kevin Hall, a well-respected former NIH employee who did a lot of research on UPFs and I came away really frustrated. He seemed to say that UPFs aren’t “addictive” and low carb and low fat diets aren’t the answer.
But then he went on to say he doesn’t keep much junk food in the house and he hides food in the basement that is more tempting. It’s hard to know what to think when someone who is a leader in the research field is doing things that seem disordered or counter-intuitive to just eating UPFs without restriction and not placing control or guardrails around them.
I hear you. It’s so understandable to feel frustrated by that kind of mixed messaging. And yet, that behavior is very predictable in a culture that tells us we can’t control ourselves around certain foods. The very behavior that fuels the “addicted” feeling! Researchers are still humans living in the same culture we are — and their personal habits often reflect cultural fears, not the actual evidence. All the healing you’ve done is more important than any of that ❤️
Thank you for posting this for everyone. It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit ends up - but I don't think it can be compared with the tobacco companies absolutely having research about the additive nature of their product and keeping it from consumers. I don't think the same is going to be true of these food manufacturers.
I am for personal choices - informed choices, so if there is information that has to do with health, I want to know it. I didn't agree with regulations in New York that limited the size of soda people bought or anything of that nature.
But, I will say. Some of these additives have not been around long enough for us to know the health consequences and some things have been banned around the world and here in the U.S. I don't know where you stand on that.
Correlation - not causation - but since the proliferation of pre-packaged foods, convenience foods, and fast food since the 1950s there has been a rise in chronic illness. Auto immune conditions have been on the rise or entered parts of the world where they were not seen before - and that takes into account increased ability to diagnose and access to healthcare. Do I think food causes these things alone, no I don't. But, for some people food is a factor in their health where other factors are also a cause or trigger.
There is a study in the UK right now showing improved results in people with Crohn's who remove foods with emulsifiers like carrageenan, cellulose, and few others. Those things don't cause the Crohn's, but they can be triggers for some people with it. Anecdotally, I removed those things years ago and have ben in remission without medication since (25 years). It's so case by case though and that's why I don't think we should be telling everyone else how to eat.
Food security and whether or not UPFs are healthy are two separate issues. People should have access to fresh foods for enjoyment and variety as well as nutrition. Again, UPF is too much of a catchall as the first commenter and many people rely on that kind of nutrient supplementation to maintain their health show.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful note, Sherry! I really appreciate how you’re holding both individual experience and broader public health questions. There’s a lot here that deserves more space. I'm going to save this for a “letters to the editor”–style newsletter, because it's the kind of good-faith complexity I want to explore more deeply. Thank you for contributing to that conversation, it genuinely helps move it forward.♥️
I have to chuckle when I think about the fact that for me consuming (almost) exclusively UPF means I am eating “healthier” than ever and “healthier” than many Americans. With (then undiagnosed) ARFID I just kind of ate whatever I could manage regardless of nutrient content. I often lacked protein in my meals greatly. Then I about quit eating and started working with an amazing RD. Now almost exclusively drinking Boost Very High Calorie, I’m finally getting the nutrients my body needs. And when I do eat solid foods, the predictability of UPF is very helpful!
Thank you so much for sharing this, Karin! It's SO important, and often missed entirely by sweeping all-or-nothing claims about UPFs. I am so so glad you've found food that feels safe, kind, and reliable. You deserve that. We all do!
Thanks for this post. I’d like to hear more about “They also represent safety and stability for people with eating disorders, neurodivergence, disabilities, illness, and so much more.” I’m recovering from an ED and rely heavily on processed because I can’t seem to muster the energy to cook. Is this an example of
what you were talking about?
Hi Melissa! Yes, exactly this. Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️
In eating-disorder recovery, it’s so important to have food you can reliably eat. When energy, executive functioning, or capacity are low, processed foods provide consistency, predictability, and enough nourishment to keep recovery moving. That’s deeply self-compassionate support.
Regular, adequate intake drives recovery. Not cooking from scratch. Not “optimization”. Just eating enough, consistently. You’re doing a really beautiful thing for yourself! (And this will extend far beyond recovery, too! We all deserve ease.)
Thank you for the affirmation and encouragement Abbie!
I just read an interview with Kevin Hall, a well-respected former NIH employee who did a lot of research on UPFs and I came away really frustrated. He seemed to say that UPFs aren’t “addictive” and low carb and low fat diets aren’t the answer.
But then he went on to say he doesn’t keep much junk food in the house and he hides food in the basement that is more tempting. It’s hard to know what to think when someone who is a leader in the research field is doing things that seem disordered or counter-intuitive to just eating UPFs without restriction and not placing control or guardrails around them.
I hear you. It’s so understandable to feel frustrated by that kind of mixed messaging. And yet, that behavior is very predictable in a culture that tells us we can’t control ourselves around certain foods. The very behavior that fuels the “addicted” feeling! Researchers are still humans living in the same culture we are — and their personal habits often reflect cultural fears, not the actual evidence. All the healing you’ve done is more important than any of that ❤️
Thank you for posting this for everyone. It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit ends up - but I don't think it can be compared with the tobacco companies absolutely having research about the additive nature of their product and keeping it from consumers. I don't think the same is going to be true of these food manufacturers.
I am for personal choices - informed choices, so if there is information that has to do with health, I want to know it. I didn't agree with regulations in New York that limited the size of soda people bought or anything of that nature.
But, I will say. Some of these additives have not been around long enough for us to know the health consequences and some things have been banned around the world and here in the U.S. I don't know where you stand on that.
Correlation - not causation - but since the proliferation of pre-packaged foods, convenience foods, and fast food since the 1950s there has been a rise in chronic illness. Auto immune conditions have been on the rise or entered parts of the world where they were not seen before - and that takes into account increased ability to diagnose and access to healthcare. Do I think food causes these things alone, no I don't. But, for some people food is a factor in their health where other factors are also a cause or trigger.
There is a study in the UK right now showing improved results in people with Crohn's who remove foods with emulsifiers like carrageenan, cellulose, and few others. Those things don't cause the Crohn's, but they can be triggers for some people with it. Anecdotally, I removed those things years ago and have ben in remission without medication since (25 years). It's so case by case though and that's why I don't think we should be telling everyone else how to eat.
Food security and whether or not UPFs are healthy are two separate issues. People should have access to fresh foods for enjoyment and variety as well as nutrition. Again, UPF is too much of a catchall as the first commenter and many people rely on that kind of nutrient supplementation to maintain their health show.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful note, Sherry! I really appreciate how you’re holding both individual experience and broader public health questions. There’s a lot here that deserves more space. I'm going to save this for a “letters to the editor”–style newsletter, because it's the kind of good-faith complexity I want to explore more deeply. Thank you for contributing to that conversation, it genuinely helps move it forward.♥️