PLAGUED by niggly health problems? The answer might well lie in a quick scan of food labels.
If your diet is dominated by ultra-processed foods, it is not just nutrients fuelling you, but a cocktail of lab-made ingredients.
From bloating to acne, here are the ingredients that could be behind your health woes. Credit: Getty
Sausages, crisps, chocolate, chicken nuggets, ice cream, soft drinks and pizzas all contain additives, stabilisers and preservatives.
might seem obvious — those treats that are high in salt, sugar and fat.
But they can be less conspicuous, too. Think canned soup, condiments, even pasta sauce.
A high-UPF diet may raise the risk of , type 2 , certain cancers and even .
While a single chicken nugget is unlikely to do you harm, a diet dominated by UPFs might be sabotaging your .
More than half of the calories we eat and drink come from UPFs, according to the British Medical Journal.
Laura Southern, Nutritional Therapist at London Gynaecology, says: “It is dose dependent when it comes to UPFs. A diet high in them is definitely bad.”
Here are the ingredients that could be behind your health woes.
BOTHERED BY BLOATING?
BLAME: Emulsifiers.
They are found in baked goods (breads, muffins and wraps), dairy-free yoghurts, cream cheeses, milkshakes, and bars, ice creams, salad dressings and sauces.
Emulsifiers extend a product’s shelf life and help fats and oils mix smoothly, improving texture.
But they may also make your waistband feel a bit tighter.
Dr Megan Rossi, founder of The Doctor, says: “There are over 60 different food-additive emulsifiers, and more than 50 per cent of ultra-processed foods in the UK contain at least one.”
Most emulsifiers start with an E on the label. Examples include mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471), lecithin (E322), polysorbates (E432–E436) and gums and thickeners (E400).
They can negatively affect the gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria living in your gut — according to research in the journal Microbiome, reducing good bugs while increasing pro-inflammatory ones.
Research by King’s College London showed reducing emulsifiers for eight weeks could be an effective treatment for Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that causes diarrhoea, severe pain, fatigue and weight loss.
Dr Rossi says: “Those on the low-emulsifier diet experienced significant improvements in symptoms, as well as reductions in several markers of gut inflammation.”
She warns that emulsifiers can also appear in some supplements.
Headaches can be caused by flavouring ingredients you may find in takeaways Credit: Getty
HEADACHE HELL?
BLAME: MSG and nitrates.
MSG (monosodium glutamate) boosts the flavour and broth-like characteristics of foods, such as stock cubes, instant noodles and savoury snacks, but could leave you nursing a sore head.
Also packed into Chinese takeaways, MSG is often called E621 on ingredient labels.
It can increase levels of glutamate, a brain chemical.
Mark Gilbert, a registered nutritionist for The 1:1 Diet by Weight Plan, says: “Glutamate activates NMDA receptors, which normally help your brain send messages and support learning and memory.
“But if these receptors are overstimulated, it can trigger migraines in some people.
“A research review in The Journal Of Headache And Pain identified MSG as causing attacks within one to 12 hours in a small number of sensitive people, with symptoms including throbbing headaches and facial pressure.”
Nitrates are a type of preservative found in processed meats such as ham, bacon, salami and sausages.
Mark says: “Nitrates can trigger a process called cortical spreading , which involves nerve activity and inflammation, and may cause or worsen migraines and cluster headaches in some.”
SICK OF SPOTS?
BLAME: Trans fats (hydrogenated oils)
IT’S a hotly debated topic — whether diet can influence your skin. Certainly, some foods can help skin glow.
But Laura says: “A diet high in UPFs will often be low in skin-supportive nutrients, such as zinc, vitamins A, C and E, which can further increase skin issues.
Our skin needs oils from polyunsaturated sources such as olive oil, oily fish, raw nuts and seeds. But certain oils, especially trans fats, have a negative impact on our skin.”
Trans fats are not as common in UK foods as they once were, but can still pop up on food labels of baked goods (cookies, doughnuts), fried foods (pies, chicken nuggets) and snacks.
Laura warns: “If it says ‘hydro- genated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’, then it will be a trans fat.
“They increase inflammation in the body, which makes things like swelling and redness worse.
“Trans fats can also disrupt the cell membrane — the thin outer layer surrounding every cell in your body —, so we lose elasticity and suppleness.”
Trans fats and saturated fats were most strongly associated with flare-ups compared with several other diet groups in a study of 13,500 participants in the journal Skin Health and Disease.
PUFFY FACE?
BLAME: Sodium.
High levels of sodium are found in many UPFs, from to processed meats, crisps and ready meals.
Laura says: “High salt diets mean the body can hold on to excess water, which shows up as bloating and puffiness.”
Although sodium is not classed as a UPF ingredient in itself, it is added to UPFs to help improve flavour and preserve the product. Laura says: “Sugar can also increase inflammation, leading to redness and puffiness in the face.”
Making food from scratch allows you to control the amount of salt and sugar you put in, but if you are buying a UPF, check the label.
If it contains 0.3g of salt or less per 100g, it is classed as “low salt”. On food labelling’s “traffic light” system, salt will be green.
Eating foods high in sugar, salt and fats can give you an energy boost, making it harder to fall asleep Credit: Getty
SLEEP DEPRIVED?
BLAME: Late-night UPFs.
One in five people is not getting enough , according to UK.
Laura says: “A study in 2024 published in the journal Health And Quality Of Life Outcomes found a correlation between those eating high amounts of UPFs and .
“The researchers didn’t put it down to one particular ingredient, rather the combination of ingredients and the lack of sleep-supportive nutrients.”
Eating foods high in sugar, salt and fats can give you an energy boost, making it harder to fall asleep.
Laura says: “The body might not have such a good-quality sleep as it’s busy digesting the late-night snacks.
“Processes like rest, detox and repair, which the body likes to do at night, will not happen as effectively.”
You will wake up tired and reaching for more energy and calorie-dense foods.
Laura suggests a small handful of chocolate-coated nuts or dried fruit as an alternative evening snack.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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