Are you reading this over the breakfast table, a bacon sandwich in one hand, a cold glass of juice in the other? Or
perhaps you’re waiting for the microwave to ping and release your favourite ready meal? Either way, the following news is likely to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Experts from around the world have now warned that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) such as crisps, ready meals, and sugary snacks are linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body and pose a seismic threat to global health. The world’s largest review of studies, published as three papers in The Lancet, found that UPFs are associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer and early death. Despite the terrifying health risks, UPFs still comprise over 50% of our diets in the UK and US, which the researchers argue is spurred by “growing economic and political power of the UPF industry”.

It seems we must rethink our relationships with our most beloved breakfast food and our guilty-secret suppers too. So what other common ingredients would the experts cancel from our diets?

1. Frozen pizza

If you fancy a pizza treat, stick with freshly made varieties. Shop-bought frozen pizza is often packed with vegetable oil, says Professor James Goodwin, the director of science at the Brain Health Network, former chief scientific officer of Age UK and author of Supercharge your Brain.

“Most of us are familiar with the risks associated with the hidden sugar, salt and preservatives in ready meals. But a little-known but common ingredient in processed foods like frozen pizzas and microwave dinners is omega-6 fatty acid,” Goodwin says.

Omega-6 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat naturally occurring in nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. Sunflower, corn, and soybean oils are all high in omega-6.

Their consumption has dramatically increased over recent years, says Goodwin, due to the wide use of refined vegetable oils and their addition to processed and fast foods. Back in the 1930s, they constituted 1% of our calories. Now, it’s nearly 10%.

The problem? “Omega-6 is inflammatory to the brain,” Goodwin says. “And it’s not just the brain that suffers. Chronic inflammation is one of the leading drivers of the most serious modern diseases, including heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and many types of cancer.”

The fix

“Read the label to find out which vegetable oils have been used (for example, butter, coconut oil and olive oil are all relatively low in omega-6) and avoid oils rich in omega-6,” Goodwin advises.

2. Diet soft drinks

“I ask my patients to completely cut out artificial sweeteners, which don’t actually help with weight control,” says Dr Saira Hameed, an NHS consultant in endocrinology and diabetes at Imperial College and author of The Full Diet Cookbook.

When we taste something sweet, she explains, the body predicts that sugar is on the way: “In anticipation of the expected rise in blood glucose levels, the body pre-emptively produces insulin – which, aside from being the body’s fat storage hormone, is also the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. This means that the sweet taste of the artificial sweetener will cause insulin levels to rise even though there is no sugar on the way.”

These nasties are commonly found in diet soft drinks, where, Hameed says, “the synthetic sweet taste perpetuates cravings for more sweet foods and conditions us to expect food to taste unnaturally sweet, preventing us from appreciating the inherent sweetness of natural foods like tomatoes and strawberries”.

Artificial sweeteners are also bad for the bacteria that live in the gut, she says, “causing our gut bacteria to disrupt our blood sugar levels and to yield more calories from the food we eat, driving weight gain”.

The fix

Water is the best choice, but what if that gets a bit boring? “Liven up water by adding lemon, lime or some cucumber,” Hameed says. “Once you come off artificial sweeteners, your taste buds will recalibrate, and this will taste so much better.”

3. Ice cream and biscuits

“Foods containing high-fructose syrups should be eliminated from your diet,” says Rhian Stephenson, a nutritionist and founder of wellness brand Artah, who points out that overconsumption of high-fructose corn syrup, for example, has been linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and even heart disease.

While British supermarkets aren’t awash in it to the same degree as their US counterparts, “it’s still bad. A lot of processed and packaged foods contain them, including some top ice cream brands, popular sweets and biscuits.”

The catch? On labels, it goes by a number of different names: “glucose fructose syrup, isoglucose, maize syrup, partially inverted sugar syrup, candy sugar syrup, crystalline fructose and more”, Stephenson says.

The fix

Have a go at making your own. “When it comes to cookies and baked goods, homemade will always be better,” says Stephenson, “especially when we can swap in healthier ingredients like wholegrain flours and more natural forms of sugar.”

4. Processed and red meat

Processed meat – any that’s been preserved or changed (including, whisper it, bacon) – is associated with a higher risk of bowel cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, just 25 grams a day (that’s one measly rasher) raises your risk. Eating large quantities of red meat has been associated with it too.

When it comes to bacon, the blame is laid with chemicals added in the processing: nitrates and nitrites. But equally, says Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston Medical School: “People who eat more processed and red meat aren’t typically the ones who eat lots of vegetables.”

The fix

Dial up the veg, dial down the red and processed meat. Or, as Mellor puts it: “a little more L and T, and a little less B in your sandwich. If there’s more fibre in your gut, although you might have these compounds from red and processed meat in there too, there’s more bulk, so less chance of the potentially carcinogenic compounds hitting the gut wall.”

5. White bread

Is your bacon sandwiched between two pieces of sliced white? So much the worse. Around 70% of the bread we eat is white, yet, says nutritional therapist Lucy Miller, “it is a highly refined carbohydrate that contains little nutritional value, is the largest contributor to salt intake in the UK, and is also a food that is high on the glycaemic index – a measure of how quickly and dramatically foods increase blood glucose levels”.

The fix

Choose an alternative, but with so many loaves out there, which one? “Choose 100% wholegrain bread, the darker the better,” suggests Miller. “This will increase the amount of fibre, which will reduce the glycaemic level and promote the health of the gut microbiome. Wholegrains are also full of nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium and omega-3.”

6. Low-fat flavoured yoghurt

“Sweetened low-fat yoghurts are high in added sugars to replace the flavour lost from removing most of the fat,” says Dr Emily Leeming, a senior nutrition scientist at Zoe, the nutrition research programme based at King’s College London.

“There’s a threshold for harm from added sugars starting at around 65g a day, so the higher you go above this, the more this is linked to poor health. Remember, though, it’s what you eat over time that matters, not a single day of eating.”

The fix

“Try choosing a full-fat natural Greek yoghurt, as the fat actually helps you to feel fuller for longer,” says Leeming. “Or try kefir yoghurt – it’s full of probiotics to feed your gut bacteria.”

7. Orange juice

“Orange juice is going in my room 101 of pet hates, because people think it’s healthy when actually it has the same concentration of sugar as a glass of Coke,” says Professor Giles Yeo, a Cambridge University molecular geneticist and author of Why Calories Don’t Count.

“Sure, it also contains vitamin C, but people glug down orange juice [and] they encourage their kids to have it. You wouldn’t do that with Coke. And it’s not like it’s a superior form of sugar either; it’s the same old sucrose.”

The fix

“The issue is that when you juice an orange, you’re stripping out the fibre. And without the fibre, our bodies absorb that sugar very, very quickly and easily,” Yeo says.

“So eat an orange instead. Sure, you’re getting the same amount of sugar, but because you’re eating it with fibre, two things happen. First, your body takes longer to get the sugar out of the orange. So that sugar is released over a longer period of time. Second, because we can’t digest fibre, it has the effect of making you feel a little bit fuller.”

8. Booze

Regularly drinking above the recommended units of alcohol can be detrimental to your health. It has many links to serious chronic conditions, including cancer.

“Alcohol is linked to a whole range of cancers: stomach, liver, throat, oesophageal…,” says Mellor. “We know that alcohol disrupts our cells, leading to changes which can result in carcinogenesis.”

The fix

“Very modest drinking – a small glass of wine or a small beer with a meal, a few times a week, might be good thing,” says Mellor – not because of alcohol’s innate properties, but because “relaxing and socialising with a meal helps us enjoy life. Enjoying life can be helpful for our health.”

He points to the Mediterranean diet – much vaunted for its health benefits: “everyone focuses on the fish and olive oil, but it also includes a moderate intake of alcohol.”

9. Coconut oil

Surprised to see this one on the list? “Coconut oil gets a lot of press and a reputation for being good for you, but that isn’t based on science,” says Leeming. “Actually, it contains about a third more saturated fat than butter, and reducing your saturated fat intake is important for lowering your risk of heart disease.”

The fix

Make extra virgin olive oil your go-to cooking oil.

“I use coconut oil for its flavour in curries, but otherwise it’s better for your heart to swap saturated fat out for polyunsaturated fats found in most other plant oils,” says Leeming.

When cooking, “stick with extra virgin olive oil, which is rich in polyphenols and healthy fats”.

10. Other ultra-processed foods

A 2023 study led by Imperial College London examined the diets of 200,000 people and tracked their health for a decade. It uncovered an association between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of both developing and dying from cancer.

From instant noodles, sweets and biscuits to mass-produced bread, the National Food Survey reports that sales of ready meals and convenience foods have increased five-fold over the last 40 years.

Ultra-processed foods are, in essence, “all foods made from ingredients that have been through multiple processes”, says Mellor.

The study’s results are not entirely straightforward, though: “People who tend to have higher intakes of ultra-processed foods also tend to have lower incomes,” says Mellor.

While the study did try to control for these, it may be that other lifestyle factors contribute to the association.

The fix

More research is required to locate the root of the association between UPFs and cancer. “Is it what’s in the food, or what’s lacking from it?” asks Mellor. He thinks it is “probably a little bit of both”.

Eating UPFs often means consuming a lot of saturated fat, salt, and free sugars at the expense of fruit, vegetables, fibre and essential nutrients. So if you’re craving the occasional ready meal, aim to balance it out with meals high in vegetables, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit, and wholegrains.

How to avoid ultra-processed foods

Professor Yeo believes it’s instinctively easier to make gradual changes rather than completely overhauling your diet, especially if you’re the cook in the house. His top tips are: