Ultra-Processed Foods: How Much Do They Impact Your Health?

Does It Really Matter What You Eat?

Here’s a question I get asked all the time:

“Does it really matter if I grab a McDonald’s, eat a frozen pizza, or snack on packaged cookies here and there? Surely it can’t kill me, right?”

And you’re right - one cookie won’t kill you.But your body isn’t just shrugging it off, either.

👉 Try this instead: Make your comfort foods whole-food and hormone-friendly! Recipes like my Espresso Truffles or Blood Sugar Friendly Fudge are delicious alternatives that won’t spike your blood sugar or stress your hormones.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs)?

The term UPFs (Ultra-Processed Foods) refers to industrially formulated products made mostly from refined ingredients, additives, and preservatives rather than whole foods. These items are designed for long shelf life, convenience, and taste - often at the expense of your health.

Examples include:

• Packaged snacks, cookies, and candies

• Frozen ready meals and instant noodles

• Fast food and fried items

• Sweetened cereals, sodas, and flavored yogurts

For a detailed classification, check the NOVA food classification system.

An apple would be a great example for a whole food. If you are eating apple sauce it’s already more processed and apple juice would be a processed food - if you then add sugar and preservatives, you’ll have an ultra processed food (even though it’s still a fruit or classified as healthy)

What Science Says About Ultra-Processed Foods

A 2025 study published in PLOS Medicine examined how eating UPFs versus whole foods affects your body.Participants followed two diets for just two weeks each:

• 80% UPF diet (mostly processed foods)

• 0% UPF diet (entirely whole, minimally processed foods)

Researchers analyzed over 1,500 blood and urine metabolites - tiny molecules that reflect how your body processes food.

The results were dramatic:

• The UPF diet produced metabolites linked to stress, inflammation, and impaired metabolism.

• The whole-food diet supported resilience, balance, and metabolic health.

And all of these changes happened in just two weeks.

In plain English: your cells know when you’re eating real food versus ultra-processed food - and they react accordingly.

How Much Is Too Much?

Science doesn’t draw a neat line like “you can eat fast food twice a week and be fine.”But research clearly shows that the more processed foods you eat, the more your biology shifts toward stress, inflammation, and hormonal imbalance.

Occasional treats won’t send you into an inflammation nightmare - your body is resilient (or at least it should be).But repeated choices build patterns, and your patterns shape your biology.

If 80% of your meals are real, whole, colorful foods, then the occasional pizza or burger won’t undo you.If your diet is mostly convenience foods, though, you’re living in what I call a metabolic storm - the perfect environment for inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormone chaos.

That’s why my philosophy is simple: Don’t aim for perfection - aim for habits that are feasible. Go 80:20.

👉 If you’re looking for delicious recipes that make the 80% easy, check out my [Hormone Balance Cookbook] - your blueprint for eating in a way that supports your hormones, energy, and long-term health.

Beyond Food: The Hormone Connection

Ultra-processed foods don’t just affect your waistline.They disrupt your insulin, cortisol, and estrogen balance - three hormones that rule your metabolism, mood, and energy.

For women in their 40s and beyond, this means more:

• Hot flashes and night sweats

• Mood swings and anxiety

• Stubborn belly fat

• Fatigue and poor sleep

Eating whole, nutrient-dense foods helps stabilize these hormones and supports your body’s natural resilience.

Aging, Metabolic Flexibility & Resilience

As we age - especially through perimenopause and menopause - our metabolic flexibility tends to decline. This means your body becomes less efficient at switching between burning carbohydrates and fats for energy.

A diet high in ultra-processed foods accelerates this decline - you can even have metobilc syndrome at a young age. That's because these foods cause blood sugar spikes, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction - all of which make your metabolism more rigid and sluggish.

By choosing whole, nutrient-rich foods, you support metabolic flexibility, helping your body to:

• Maintain stable blood sugar

• Burn fat efficiently

• Reduce cravings and energy crashes

• Stay metabolically “young”

That’s how real food becomes a powerful anti-aging tool.

My Take as The Stress Detective

Don’t aim for perfection. Aim for feasible habits.

Make your daily meals nutrient-dense and anti-inflammatory.

Enjoy the occasional treat without guilt.

And don’t stress about it - stress is just as harmful as ultra-processed foods!

But remember: your body feels every choice, even the small ones. Over time, those choices shape your hormones, metabolism, and how vibrant you feel - inside and out.