Ultra-Processed Food

Packaged snacks, sodas, ready meals.

50Moderate burden · out of 100

Cleaner swapWhole, minimally processed foods

How this score is built

100Start
81.6Chemical hazard 4 × 4.6−18.4
57.8Everyday exposure 7 × 3.4−23.8
50Persistence 3 × 2.6−7.8
ModerateThe band50 sits in 40–59.

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
Input	Rating	Evidence
Chemical hazard	4/10	unsourced input
Everyday exposure	7/10	Among 2,212 NHANES 2013-2014 participants, each 10% more energy from ultra-processed food went with 8.0% higher urinary MCOP, a phthalate metabolite, with a stronger association in children; bisphenols were not associated. Ultra-processed food consumption and exposure to phthalates and bisphenols in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2014 · Environ Int 2019 DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105057 · PMID 31398592 · Abstract, Results · read 2026-10-09
Persistence	3/10	unsourced input

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

It scores as it does mainly because of how much everyday contact it involves. Carries additives, emulsifiers, and packaging-derived compounds, and displaces the fiber and phytonutrients your detox pathways rely on.

Evidence strength: strong

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