'I gave up ultra-processed food for a week, here's what happened'

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have a bad reputation. In fact, research has linked them to 32 potential health risks, external including heart attacks, strokes, obesity, type 2 diabetes and anxiety.

Ultra-processed foods are classified based on how industrially processed, external they are.

With more than half of UK adults' calories coming from ultra-processed foods, external, I wanted to see how easy it would be to give up UPFs for a week. Here's what happened when I went UPF-free…

I'm gluten-free and mostly cook from scratch but I still consume plenty of obvious UPFs like chocolate and protein snacks.

I realised that so many of my store-cupboard essentials and 'healthy choices' also contain ultra-processed ingredients. Why was there maize starch in yoghurt? Does pasta really need mono and diglycerides of fatty acids? Don't even get me started on stock cubes.

Ditching UPFs cost more – my weekly groceries ballooned from £40 to £100. Replacing mustard to make salad dressings meant buying an organic version; ditto baked beans, which cost four times more than my typical tin and were bland.

I meal-plan as standard, but I'd overlooked snacks. When I didn't want yet another banana, I found myself grumpily baking oat cookies at 9pm (they were delicious though).

I missed hot sauce and found myself pickling red onions during lunch. My blender (and dishwasher) seemed in constant use – batter, sauces, a roasted red pepper hummus that, admittedly, made me swear off shop-bought it was that good.

Trying to avoid ultra-processed foods is even harder if you're gluten-free. While most people can make a fresh loaf of bread, most gluten-free recipes require an additive called xanthan gum. Homemade pitta bread with gram flour didn't hit the spot.

Breakfast was the easiest time to avoid UPFs. I made granola and buckwheat pancakes, although that was only possible because I work from home.

Lunch was a rotation of omlettes, sweetcorn fritters and salads.

I stopped automatically reaching for sriracha. My blackcurrant cordial addiction was also curbed – I drank water instead.

The biggest surprise was what little difference removing stock cubes from my cooking made.

Avoiding UPFs while eating out was a stressful thought so I entertained at home instead. I fed extended family with burgers, watermelon salad and potato gratin.

Though I missed drinking elderflower lager (contained sweeteners), I enjoyed non-UPF wine. And just when I thought ice cream was a no-go, I found a brand with a simple ingredients list and happily demolished a scoop.

At the end of my UPF-free week I was relieved. I enjoyed the food and I felt slightly less sluggish but the mental effort of thinking about every single crumb was a lot.

I'll happily stick to the occasional cordial and buy better where I can. But it's a privilege to be UPF-free, in terms of time and cost. To truly avoid UPFs, you need cooking and planning skills, knowledge, money and motivation.

There's a happy medium, suggests dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine, external, author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed.

"UPFs come on a spectrum of health. We should focus on including more nutrient-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and protein sources that promote beneficial effects on our physical and mental health approximately 80% of the time.

"Then, 20% of the time, we can include less nutrient-dense foods such as biscuits, cakes, ice creams and chocolate bars, which provide energy and can also benefit our mental wellbeing by providing a sense of enjoyment and balance."

Originally published July 2024. Updated January 2026.

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