'The five ultra-processed foods I'll never buy again - including some I thought were healthy'

Much of the food on supermarket shelves these days is ultra-processed, meaning it has had chemicals added to it to make it last longer before it goes off.

But despite having a lengthier use-by date, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can cause issues as they are low in nutritional value and high in ingredients that simply aren't good for you.

In January 2024, Surrey Live journalist Steffan Rhys stopped eating UPFs altogether and spent the last year learning more and more about them. He said he paid particular attention to experts in the field like Professor Tim Spector of Zoe and Dr Chris van Tulleken.

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The journalist wrote: "I'm not saying everyone should make the same choice as me. Furthermore, no food should be off-limits completely and you'd be fine to eat these once in a while with no detrimental health effects — you don't have to go cold turkey like me! It's a cliche but any food in moderation is fine."

Having been on this anti-UPF journey for a year now, he has shared five ultra processed foods he will never eat again.

1. Flavoured yoghurt

Greek yoghurt is "one of the healthiest you can eat", according to Professor Tim Spector. However, Prof Spector also adds: "Yet in most countries now it is hard to find a yoghurt that isn't ultra-processed or contains a low-fat synthetic alternative with extra sugar, fake fruit or artificial flavours."

Processing yoghurt also "often removes the friendly, gut-boosting bugs" from it, says Zoe. Rhys added: "And it's these kinds of yoghurts I will no longer eat."

2. Cereal and granola

"I used to eat granola and flavoured yoghurt for breakfast thinking it was healthy", wrote Rhys.

Dr Daisy Lund, an NHS GP, told The Independent: "When I read the labels on everyday breakfast cereals and saw the high sugar quantity of most, I decided to stop buying them for both myself and my family.

"Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut cornflakes used to be a guilty pleasure but they have 11g sugar in one 30g serving (12 per cent of your recommended daily allowance) and even things marked as healthy, like Alpen muesli, has 9.5g sugar per 45g serving.

"Instead, I started experimenting with wholegrains, such as oats. My ideal breakfast now consists of jumbo oats or oat groats soaked in soya milk overnight to create a soft and delicious overnight oats bowl. This is what my son eats too – he prefers his with peanut butter and banana."

3. Pre-packaged bread

Much of the bread lining supermarket shelves "contains additives that help speed production, extend shelf life, improve flavour and texture, and fortify against the nutrients lost during processing", reports the BBC.

And Rhys, having given up processed bread, added that white bread made from refined flour can also be bad for your gut health and cause blood sugar spikes.

But Giles Yeo, a geneticist and professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge and honorary president of the British Dietetic Association, says bread has a worse reputation than it deserves.

He told the Zoe podcast recently: "Supermarket bread is still made largely of flour, salt, yeast and some water. And it's probably not as bad for you as some people make it out to be."

4. Cake, chocolate, cookies

"OK, this might be a bit of a no-brainer. I probably don't need to go into much detail about the fact that cake, chocolate and cookies have a lot of sugar in them", stated Surrey Live's Steffan Rhys.

"But the fact that lots of these products actually contain sugar as their main ingredient tells you a lot. But apart from sugar, these foods contain masses of different ingredients.

"For example, an Exceptional by Asda Chocolate Fudge Cake has 25 ingredients, like emulsifiers, preservatives, raising agents and many which you've probably never heard of."

But chocolate does boast some health benefits. Prof Tim Spector explains that chocolate “comes from a plant that is fermented to give it great complexity, so it’s a mixture of fibre and protein, and lots of essential nutrients and defense chemicals called polyphenols.”

5. Crisps

"Generally speaking, most crisps will be high in unhealthy fat and salt. That's not the end of the world once in a while. But even crisps you think of as wholesome and healthy, like Kettle Chips salt and black pepper flavour, contain ingredients like maltodextrin," wrote Rhys.

"And once you get into the likes of Pringles, you are talking a long list of ingredients that mean it is quite far away from resembling an actual potato."