The Processing Guide
Pick a food or a whole plate. See which of NOVA's four groups it's in, the one ingredient that put it there, and the swap that drops your share most.
Updated November 15, 2026. 11 guide pages, 35 questions, 9 myths, from 83 published sources.
- 1
Whole or barely changedFrozen peas, dried pasta, plain yogurt - 2
Kitchen ingredientOlive oil, sugar, salt, butter - 3
ProcessedA loaf of flour, water and salt, cheddar - 4
Ultra-processedWhey powder, packaged whole wheat bread, oat milk
Is this food ultra-processed?
Nothing here yet. Pick a food below.
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Why are you here?
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I want to lose weightWhy people ate 508 more calories a day on it -
The headlines scared meWhat the big studies found, and how sure anyone is -
I can't stop at a fewIs it addictive, or just fast? -
My kids eat a lot of itAbout 62% of their calories, and the swaps that stick -
I'm on a GLP-1Which packaged foods to keep when you eat less -
My blood sugar is creeping upDiabetes risk, and the group 4 foods that went the other way -
My mood has been lowWhat the depression studies can and can't say -
My gut feels offEmulsifiers, the one small trial, and when to see a doctor -
I drink a protein shake every dayIt's group 4. Here's when that's fine -
I eat plant-basedPlant burgers, tofu and oat milk on the label test -
I'm on a budgetWhat the swaps cost, and the cheap ones -
I eat deli meat most daysProcessed meat and cancer, sized for one person -
I heard the rules changedThe federal definition, school meals and labels, dated
The questions people ask
What counts
Has the FDA defined ultra-processed food?Not yet. A first proposed definition went to the White House for review on August 10, 2026, and its text is still unpublished. Researchers and the CDC use NOVA.
Processed vs ultra-processed food: what's the difference?Processed is whole food plus a kitchen ingredient, like cheese or canned beans. Ultra-processed adds something a kitchen doesn't keep, like whey or a flavoring.
What are the four NOVA groups?Whole foods, kitchen ingredients (salt, sugar, oil), processed foods (the two together), and ultra-processed. It sorts food by how it's made and leaves nutrition out.
What is ultra-processed food?Food with at least one ingredient a home kitchen doesn't keep: a sugar like maltodextrin, a protein isolate, a hydrogenated oil, or a flavoring, color or emulsifier.- Which foods are ultra-processed?Soda, candy and packaged snacks, and also most packaged bread, fruit yogurt, breakfast cereal, oat milk and protein powder. Frozen vegetables and dried pasta aren't.
Is it ultra-processed?
Are diet drinks ultra-processed?Yes: sweeteners, colors and flavors. They add almost no calories, and the 2026 US guidelines still say to limit low-calorie sweeteners. Sparkling water is the swap.
Are frozen vegetables processed?Plain frozen vegetables are whole food, group 1. Freezing is one of the changes NOVA counts as barely processing at all. Sauced and seasoned bags can be ultra-processed.
Are protein bars ultra-processed?Almost always: protein isolates, flavors, sweeteners. 93 of 97 US bars we checked had a marker. Use one when it does a job, like a long day with no meal.
Is bread ultra-processed?Most packaged sliced bread is, usually from added gluten or an emulsifier. A loaf of flour, water, salt and yeast isn't. Packaged whole wheat still beats white on fiber.- Is cheese ultra-processed?Cheddar, parmesan and most block cheese are processed, group 3: milk, cultures and salt. Wrapped process cheese slices, made with emulsifying salts, are ultra-processed.
Is dark chocolate ultra-processed?A bar of cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter is processed, group 3. Soy lecithin or a flavoring makes it ultra-processed. Of 97 US bars we checked, 40 had neither.
Is Greek yogurt ultra-processed?Plain Greek yogurt, milk and cultures, is whole food, group 1. Flavored cups with a flavoring, a sweetener or a thickener are ultra-processed. Add your own fruit.
Is oat milk ultra-processed?About two in three US cartons are: a gum like gellan, a flavoring or an emulsifier. Oats, water, oil and salt alone would be processed. Plain milk is whole food.
Is pasta ultra-processed?Dried pasta of flour and water is whole food, group 1, the same as plain oats. Frozen pasta meals and instant noodles with flavor packets are ultra-processed.
Is peanut butter ultra-processed?Peanuts and salt is processed, like salted nuts. A jar that adds fully hydrogenated oil has a NOVA marker, and palm oil doesn't. The jar's label decides, so check yours.
Is plant-based meat ultra-processed?Most are. In German stores 88% had a marker, often a flavoring. In a US trial they still lowered LDL against red meat. Tofu, beans and tempeh are the whole food version.
Is protein powder ultra-processed?Yes, even a three-ingredient whey. Whey protein is on NOVA's list by definition, which is about how it's made. A shake that replaces a pastry is still a good trade.- Is sourdough ultra-processed?Sourdough of flour, water, salt and starter is processed, group 3. A supermarket loaf with added wheat gluten or an emulsifier is ultra-processed. Check the label.
Labels and ingredients
Are emulsifiers bad for you?They keep oil and water mixed. In an 11-day trial in 16 people, the emulsifier CMC changed gut bacteria. A big French study saw small links to heart disease. Early days.- How can you tell if a food is ultra-processed?Check the ingredient list for one thing a kitchen doesn't keep: a sugar like dextrose, a protein isolate, a hydrogenated oil, or a flavor, color, gum or sweetener.
Is carrageenan bad for you?It's a thickener from red seaweed, in some dairy and plant milks. The FDA allows it. The worries started in mice, and the first trial in people was small and mixed.
What does "natural flavors" mean?Flavor taken from a plant or animal source and concentrated, says the FDA. It's still a flavoring, so NOVA puts the food in group 4, natural or not.
What is maltodextrin?Starch, usually from corn, broken into short chains of glucose. It turns up in powders, seasonings and sauces, and it's one of NOVA's markers of ultra-processed food.
How bad is it?
Does ultra-processed food cause depression?Studies link it to more depression, 34% to 49% more in the biggest one, but can't show cause. A diet trial helped. Eat for your mood the way you'd eat for your heart.
Does ultra-processed food cause diabetes?It goes with more type 2 diabetes, about 12% more risk for each extra 10% of your diet. But whole grain bread, cereal and yogurt, all group 4, went with less.
Does ultra-processed food make you gain weight?It makes people eat more. On the NIH ward it was 508 calories a day and 2 pounds in two weeks. In England, people lost half as much weight on it over 8 weeks.
How much ultra-processed food is too much?No US guideline sets a number. US adults get 53% of their calories from it. meals.guide's plate line is 30%, and which foods they are counts more than the exact share.
Is ultra-processed food addictive?For some people it acts like it. About 14% of adults and 12% of kids meet a food addiction scale, mostly for sweets and salty snacks. Speed explains a lot of it.
Is ultra-processed food really that bad?In three small trials people ate more or lost less on it. Big studies link it to heart disease, diabetes and depression, but most of that evidence rates low quality.
Why is ultra-processed food so hard to stop eating?It's soft, dense and fast. People ate it 17 calories a minute faster on the NIH ward, so more got in before fullness caught up. Harder food slows you down.
Myth or fact?
Not the way you think Ultra-processed just means junk food
No All processed food is bad for you
Not the way you think If it's ultra-processed, it's unhealthy
No Ultra-processed food only makes you gain weight because of the sugar and fat
No Sugar is an ultra-processed food
Not the way you think Seed oils are ultra-processed
Tools
Is this food ultra-processed?
Pick a food or a whole plate. See its group, the ingredient that decided it, and the swap that drops it most.
Label checker
Paste an ingredient list. The ingredients a kitchen doesn't keep light up in your own text.
One tomato, four groups
Add one thing at a time to a tomato and see the exact ingredient that tips it over.
Your day's share
Your meals and drinks in, your share of ultra-processed calories out, beside the US average.
The swap ladder
Pick a staple you buy every week and climb down to the version with nothing a kitchen would not keep.
Spot the ultra-processed
Ten rounds, two foods. Tap the one that's ultra-processed, then see what decided it.
The guide
The core essay
Ultra-processed food is faster than full
Ultra-processed food goes down faster than fullness can keep up. Eat mostly what a kitchen could make, swap your weekly staples first, and never treat it as a grade.
What makes a food ultra-processed?
The four groups, and the foods that surprise people
Why ultra-processed food makes you eat more
What the big studies found, and what they can't tell you
Processing isn't the same thing as nutrition
How much is too much?
How to eat less of it without cooking all day
Ultra-processed food rules: what changed in 2025 and 2026
How to read a label in ten seconds
Take a photo of your meal to estimate calories, macros and micronutrients. Food XRAY connects your nutrition with your health data and AI coach. Open Gyroscope
For adults looking at what they eat. It explains how food is made and doesn't grade your food or diagnose anything.
