Your Questions on Ultra-Processed Foods Answered by Expert Melissa Halas
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for our special Q&A with guest expert, Melissa Halas, MA, RDN, CDE. We’re excited to share her answers with you!
August is the perfect time to reset before fall routines kick in. We’re diving into a hot topic that’s been making headlines (and showing up in our pantries): ultra-processed foods. We’re thrilled to welcome guest expert Melissa Halas, MA, RDN, CDE, a leading voice in functional nutrition and creator of the Non-UPF Program, to help us better understand what ultra-processed foods really are, how they impact our health, and how we can reduce them without sacrificing convenience or flavor.
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! In this Q&A, Melissa shares thoughtful, real-life strategies for:
Identifying ultra-processed foods
Understanding how ultra-processed foods impact long-term health and how to eat less of them without feeling deprived
Shopping smartly at traditional grocery stores—even with today’s farming concerns
Navigating travel and airport food while keeping ultra-processed foods to a minimum
Making better choices at fast food spots
Starting your day with a nourishing, non-traditional breakfast like soup
About Melissa
Melissa Halas, MA, RDN, CDE, is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Certified Health Coach with a master’s in nutrition education. With a background in nutrition counseling, clinical care, research, and close to 20 years of teaching functional nutrition, Melissa helps individuals achieve their best health through science-based strategies, sustainable behavior change, and a whole-body approach—addressing root causes to support long-term wellness.
At Melissa’s Healthy Living and SuperKids Nutrition, she provides personalized nutrition counseling for individuals and families. Her work with clients—along with witnessing firsthand the health issues caused by ultra-processed foods—inspired the creation of The Non-UPF Program. This initiative, backed by an international board of scientists, leads national efforts to reduce ultra-processed food consumption through education, advocacy, and product certification.
Melissa is also the creator of the Super Crew® characters, a diverse group of kids who promote healthy eating with younger children through imaginative storytelling and colorful adventures. Her work with the Super Crew has received CDC funding, and she is currently expanding the initiative into a multimedia platform to engage and educate children through interactive learning aimed at reducing ultra-processed food consumption.
With over two decades of nutrition advocacy, including early warnings about artificial additives and the chronic disease risks of ultra-processed diets, she continues to empower people of all ages with practical tools to make informed, healthful food choices.
Here are some of the top questions you submitted, along with Melissa’s insightful and practical advice!
Q&A Highlights:
Q: What is considered an ultra-processed food?
Melissa’s Answer:
A large part of the U.S. food supply is made up of ultra-processed foods. These foods often have ingredients you wouldn’t find in a home kitchen, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and other industrial formulations.
Scientists use the Nova classification system to categorize foods by how much they’ve been processed:
Nova Group 4: Ultra-processed foods
Nova Groups 1–3: Unprocessed/minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, and processed.
💡Want to learn more? Check out The Non-UPF Program Guide.
How to spot them:
Packaging may look wholesome, but check the ingredient list.
If it’s a “food-like product” with ingredients you can’t pronounce, designed to be hyper-palatable and shelf-stable, it’s likely a UPF.
Examples:
Sugars such as fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, ‘fruit juice concentrates’, invert sugar, invert sugar syrup (Lancet), maltodextrin, dextrose, and lactose; modified starches
Modified oils such as hydrogenated or interesterified oils;
Protein sources such as hydrolyzed proteins, soy protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein
Flavors, flavor enhancers, colorants like food dyes, azodicarbonamide, emulsifiers (like lecithin, datem, brominated vegetable oil, modified food starch) glazing
Inesterified oils, hydrogenated oils,
Thickeners, gums or xanthan.
Compare products by reading ingredients and comparing brands: peanut butter with just peanuts and salt is a non-upf, whereas a peanut butter with mono-diglycerides, soy lecithin, and added sugar is ultra-processed.
👀 Soon you can also look for our Non-UPF certification label which helps consumers easily spot Nova 1-3 foods. We are looking for both volunteers and donations!
Get involved, it’s rewarding:
https://www.nonupfprogram.org/
Q: How do ultra-processed foods impact your health?
Melissa’s Answer:
High UPF consumption is linked to:
Increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, and obesity
Poor blood sugar control and an imbalance in the gut microbiota
Cognitive issues and increased inflammation
Lower intake of fiber, antioxidants, and essential nutrients
Higher risk of inflammatory diseases, like ulcerative colitis
Learn more about the risks here.
UPFs displace whole foods, disrupt hunger signals, and train taste buds to expect exaggerated flavors. You don’t need to fear food, but be aware of what these products do to your body over time and begin to eat less of them, starting with one small choice today. For example, try making your own flavorful salad dressing.
I’m sure Pam has plenty of delicious recipes to choose from, and after making them a few times, you’ll find it only takes 2–3 minutes. Plus, you’ll save money while cutting out an unnecessary UPF.
🥗 Pam & The Team: Here’s one of our favorites: Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Gradually, replace some of your UPF staples, like flavored yogurt, for plain, flavored with all your favorite wholesome toppings. Look for pasta, that’s 100% real, like semolina or buckwheat without xantham gum.
Q: How can I identify ultra-processed foods at the grocery store
Melissa’s Answer:
Here’s your Non-UPF Program Cheat Sheet:
Read labels: avoid ingredients like mono diglycerides, pectin or modified food starch in yogurts, artificial colors (Red 40, Yellow 5), gums, or sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame. See my tips above.
Check food structure: does it still resemble the original food? Look for granola bars made with simple wholesome ingredients like oats, nut butter, dried fruit that don’t include sugar syrups, natural flavors, or protein isolates.
Use the “synthetic-sounding” ingredients as a red flag.
Shop the perimeter: go with foods your grandmom or great-grandmom (if you’re under 50) would recognize. These are likely the least processed foods, produce, whole grains, dairy without additives, and minimally processed protein.
It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. Small, simple changes, like swapping out one ultra-processed food for another, add up to meaningful benefits for your health.
We shouldn’t fear food, but we also can’t ignore the growing evidence that many additives and industrial formulations can harm our long-term well-being. Around the world, countries are already integrating recommendations to limit ultra-processed foods into their dietary guidelines, and we deserve the same.
As a dietitian, I still enjoy some UPF foods, but I focus on eating mostly whole and minimally processed options. It’s about making changes where you can, when you can, and getting back to nature with choices that nourish both your body and mind and promote a vibrant healthspan.
Q: What strategies do you recommend to limit ultra-processed foods when traveling?
Melissa’s Answer:
Whether it’s a road trip, conference, or flight, preparation is key. I recommend traveling with a stash of healthy snacks to create mini-meals, aiming for most to be non-ultra-processed foods. I typically arrive at the airport early and eat a small meal before boarding.
Here are some go-to strategies:
Pack some stable essentials: sourdough bread, roasted chickpeas, air-popped popcorn, nitrate-free turkey or salmon jerky, brown rice cakes, or whole-grain crackers.
Supplement with airport finds: hard-boiled eggs, string cheese, hummus, or pickled veggies (which are becoming more common).
Include produce: if packed, choose easily peelable fruit like clementines or bananas (stored on top of your bag). Dried apple chips, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, or a whole bell pepper which you can eat like an apple are easy too.
Nuts and homemade trail mix: I avoid peanuts (a common allergen) and bring a mix of almonds, walnuts, cashews, dried apricots and may add in whole oats and cacao nibs if I’m packing a spoon.
Short trips: add perishable items like string cheese if you’ll eat them within two hours.
Shelf-stable options: single-serve nut butters and whole-grain crackers. Or I make a nut butter and jelly sandwich with whole-grain bread, which usually stays fresh for 2 hours.
When flying home after a presentation, I do my best with what’s available. Finding minimally or unprocessed foods in airports can be tricky, but options like fruit, hardboiled eggs, pickled veggies, sugar snap peas, or egg white bites are great options; or if I’m really hungry with limited time, I may get a fruit and cheese plate on the plane, on the rare flight where food is available for purchase.
My goal is to keep ultra-processed foods to <20% of my diet, while not being too hard on myself. Travel days are often unpredictable! If I consume more on a travel day, I balance it with more whole foods later that day or in the week.
Other tips:
Skip sodas and additive-heavy drinks, and choose water, unsweetened teas, or coffee.
At restaurants or hotel buffets, ask how vegetarian, fish or chicken dishes are prepared. Look for whole food anchors like simple salads with olive oil and lemon, baked potatoes, or grilled vegetables. Avoid sauces with mystery ingredients to sidestep emulsifiers, additives, and excess sodium.
As Michael Pollan famously said, “Eat only foods that your great-grandmother would recognize as food.”
Q: Can we still lead healthy lives while buying store-bought groceries, despite depleted soils and modern farming?
Melissa’s Answer:
Yes! Here’s the good news: I eat very little UPF and buy 90% of my food from traditional grocery stores, many of which are cultural staples for many people. I also enjoy farmers’ markets when I can, and I used to garden before the California fires.
Non-UPF foods are abundant in stores; just check the ingredient list and buy those without all the “non-food” industrial formations. I buy many store-brand foods that are non-UPF.
Whole grains: rice, quinoa, oats, millet
Legumes and Pasta
All nuts and seeds
Fruits and Vegetables: My favorites are berries, apples, citrus, cabbage, cauliflower, bell peppers, and leafy greens (fresh, frozen, and canned). I also love canned tomato products, like tomato paste.
Fermented foods, kimchee, pickled cabbage, sauerkraut
Tofu and fish for me, chicken, and beef for friends and family
Most tofu brands
Olive and avocado oil
These foods are nutrient-rich, and plant foods are packed with phytonutrients, compounds that act as antioxidants, antivirals, and antibacterial agents. Choosing foods closest to their natural state supports your heart, brain, and overall health.
For example, choosing whole oats over instant oats with added sweeteners, flavors, or additives is a simple and easy swap.
While soil health influences nutrient density, store-bought produce still provides protective compounds. Health comes from patterns, not perfection. The key is diversity, color, and consistency while minimizing ultra-processed foods, that often include harmful additives that have not been adequately tested, yet remain in our food supply.
As a dietitian who taught functional nutrition and phytonutrients for nearly 20 years, I emphasize that vibrant, plant-forward meals, rich in berries, cruciferous vegetables, herbs, legumes, and whole grains, help optimize your microbiome and immune system.
You don’t need to homestead to be healthy. Build meals around minimally processed ingredients, and keep UPFs in the occasional category. Remember, many frozen and canned produce (and even canned pineapple in its own juices) and many legumes also are nutrient-dense, minimally processed, and convenient healthy choices. Read the ingredient list, and see my tips for choosing non-upf. Choose products like frozen spinach, canned tomatoes with herbs, and canned beans with water and salt.
Q: What are the best choices for restaurants like Jimmy John’s or Subway?
Melissa’s Answer:
I wish restaurants offered more non-UPF foods, but consumer growing demand will drive more options. When trans fats were banned, or whole grain bread was desired, companies and restaurants adapted, and they will again when we push for better choices. I remember when you could only get white bread, mayo, mustard, or ketchup. It’s consumer requests and demand that drive options.
It’s going to be hard to eat fast food, that’s not UPF. So balance your choices by choosing non-UPF foods for other meals. When eating out, focus on reducing UPF intake when you can and making healthier choices overall:
For example, when eating potato chips, choose brands with just potatoes, oil, and salt, rather than nacho-flavored options full of artificial colors and flavors.
Lunch meat is tricky since most chains use nitrates. AICR.org recommends limiting it due to the increased risk of colon cancer. When possible, choose natural nitrates.
At Subway:
Choose whole-grain bread
Select turkey or a veggie patty
Load up on colorful veggies
Use mustard or oil and vinegar instead of creamy sauces
At Jimmy John’s:
Opt for whole-grain bread or a lettuce wrap
Add avocado spread, hummus, turkey.
Or choose a lettuce wrap sandwich and order pita chips and hummus.
Ask for sandwiches “dry” and add condiments later if needed. Skip sugary drinks and go with water or unsweetened iced tea. It’s about upgrading choices without stressing over perfection. Balance restaurant meals by choosing more non-UPF foods at home.
Advocate for more non-UPF options, more healthy options at the same prices will happen over time, but it starts with requests, as it trends, companies respond.
Q: I’m using homemade soup as a breakfast meal, what should I look out for?
Melissa’s Answer:
Soup for breakfast is a creative, nourishing way to start your day, especially during colder months. It’s an easy way to boost your vegetable and fiber intake.
Tips to keep it healthy and satisfying:
Protein boost: add Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (after heating). Don’t knock it until you try it; it’s creamy and delicious.
Fiber: include veggies, barley, or quinoa. Blend beans, like cannellini beans, to make it thicker, creamier, and full of fiber.
Healthy toppings: drizzle with olive oil, top with chopped avocado, cashew nuts, hemp seeds, or nutritional yeast.
Avoid UPF additives: skip bouillon cubes with artificial colors or mono or diglycerides. Read labels and compare your options. If you see two types of soup, pick the one without the modified food starch, natural flavors, or corn syrup solids!
Stir in leftovers like roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, or greens to boost phytonutrient variety.
PURPOSEful next steps:
We hope these answers help you feel more confident and prepared when purchasing food.
If this message resonates, consider supporting the Non-UPF Program by donating, volunteering, signing up for our newsletter, or joining our free webinar.
It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. Small, simple changes, like swapping out one ultra-processed food for another, add up to meaningful benefits for your health.
Don’t forget to enter our giveaway! One lucky winner will win free access to our Living Fully Mediterranean Course (a $499 value!) AND a Fish Fixe Box ( $159 value!) 16 premium, pre-portioned seafood servings delivered to your door!
P.S. Want to learn more about Melissa? Follow her on Instagram. You can also check out her website and her site SuperKids Nutrition.