Processed Foods

Ultra-Processed Foods Are Making You Depressed

Research has linked ultra-processed foods to mental health issues, prompting scientists to suggest strategies to discourage their consumption.
Ultra-Processed Foods Are Making You Depressed
beats1/Shutterstock
Zena le Roux
|Updated:
0:00

When you pick up a cigarette packet, the warning is clear: Smoking causes lung cancer and other health issues. Reach for a bottle of alcohol, and you’re met with labels warning of its harm. Yet in grocery stores, we—and our children—can grab ultra-processed foods (UPFs) without a single warning about their potential health consequences.

A 2024 systematic umbrella review in the BMJ linked UPFs to a myriad of chronic conditions that could warrant a warning label. One of the overlooked dangers of consuming UPFs is their effect on mental health.
Zena le Roux
Zena le Roux
Author
Zena le Roux is a health journalist with a master’s in investigative health journalism and a certified health and wellness coach specializing in functional nutrition. She is trained in sports nutrition, mindful eating, internal family systems, and applied polyvagal theory. She works in private practice and serves as a nutrition educator for a UK-based health school.