Lauren Manaker is an award-winning registered dietitian, book author, speaker, and entrepreneur. She has been practicing dietetics since 2004, and has worked in a wide variety of settings. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, a master's degree in clinical nutrition from Rush University, and she completed her dietetic internship through the Rush University Medical Center system in Chicago.
Ultra-processed foods generally use additives to make the product sellable, palatable, and often hyper-palatable. “Most of the foods we eat every day are processed to some degree, but ultra-processed foods take things a step further,” Garone said. Other ingredients found in ultra-processed foods can include “ingredients extracted from other foods, like casein, lactose, gluten, whey, hydrogenated oils, protein isolate, maltodextrin, inverted sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup,” explainedShe added that these additions could even be nutritious elements like fiber, vitamins, or minerals.
Unfortunately, food manufacturers are not required to state on the food label the processes used when making their products, making it hard for consumers to navigate whether their food choice is ultra-processed or not. USDA scientists showed that it is entirely possible to follow the recommendations of the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans while consuming 91% of all calories from ultra-processed foods. The researchers chose options that were lower in saturated fat and added sugar, and the choices contained micronutrients.