What Happens to Our Body When We Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Food over Many Years?

For many years now I have been paying attention to what I eat.

I love simple food — vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and foods I can recognize and understand what they are made of.

I try to eat fruits and vegetables with their peel when it is edible and suitable, and to include plenty of fiber in my daily menu.

Over the years I realized that the important question is not only how much we eat, but also which foods our diet is composed of.

What is the difference between natural food and ultra-processed food?

First it is important to understand that not all food processing is a negative thing.

Cooking, freezing, drying, pasteurization, and grinding are also types of processing.

Frozen vegetables, canned legumes without unnecessary additions, natural yogurt, and canned fish can all be part of a healthy diet.

In contrast, ultra-processed food is usually an industrial product containing combinations of extensively processed ingredients, and sometimes also flavorings, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and other additives.

But the mere presence of a food additive does not prove that the product is harmful. One must look at the overall nutritional composition and at the eating pattern.

What do the studies show?

Large studies have found a link between high consumption of ultra-processed food and an increased risk of several health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Some of the studies also found a link to early mortality.

However, many of the studies are observational, and therefore they do not prove that every ultra-processed food directly causes disease.

What we do know is that a diet based on vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and fiber-rich foods is usually associated with better health outcomes.

Why is fiber so important?

Dietary fiber is found in plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.

Some of the fiber serves as food for the gut bacteria, which can produce from it short-chain fatty acids.

These substances have important roles in gut activity and in metabolic and immune processes.

Fiber can also contribute to a feeling of fullness, support normal digestive system activity, and help balance blood sugar and cholesterol levels, depending on the type of fiber.

Of course it is important to drink enough water, especially when increasing fiber consumption.

What about sugar and fat?

When we reduce foods high in added sugar and saturated fat, and replace them with foods rich in fiber and unsaturated fats, we may improve the quality of our diet.

But not every fat is harmful, and not every sugar appearing in food is nutritionally the same.

There is a difference between added sugar in a sweetened drink and the sugars found in a whole fruit that also contains water, fiber, and other components.

Can clean eating affect the skin too?

Diet is connected to skin health, but the connection is complex.

Foods rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and essential fats provide the body with components needed for the skin's normal functioning.

There is also evidence that a diet with a low glycemic load may help some people who suffer from acne.

But there is no proof that a particular diet can prevent all skin problems or stop its aging process.

And what about the cumulative effect over the years?

In my view, this is the most interesting part.

We are used to looking for a quick result. A change in weight, improved digestion, or a better feeling within a few days.

But the important effect of diet may actually be cumulative.

Eating patterns over the years are linked to the risk of chronic diseases, to heart health, to the functioning of the digestive system, and to maintaining body mass and a healthy body composition.

We cannot promise ourselves that we won't get sick, but we can certainly choose habits that support our health.

My daily recommendation

I don't think food should be turned into a source of fear.

Nor should we feel guilty over one meal that wasn't perfect.

What matters is what we do on most days, over years.

I prefer simple, varied food, rich in fiber and as little ultra-processed as possible — not because I think every synthetic substance is poison, but because this is an eating pattern that allows me to get many nutrients from whole food.

And sometimes, the best way to maintain our health is not to add another supplement or another expensive product, but simply to go back to basic, good food.

Nurit Rozenblat

With love,
Nurit Rozenblat
OrOrgani

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