Eating More Processed Foods Lowers Your Levels Of These Key Nutrients
Ultra-processed foods (think packaged snacks, fast food, frozen meals, sugary drinks) now make up a large share of what many people eat every day. They're convenient, affordable, and many are engineered to be hard to stop eating. They're also not known for being nutrient dense.
So what happens to your vitamin and mineral status as you consume more of these processed foods? Researchers of a new study 1just investigated that relationship. Here's what you need to know.
About the study
Researchers set out to identify how ultra-processed food consumption influences micronutrient status (the levels of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements in the body) across different stages of life. Micronutrient deficiencies remain a major global health problem, hitting children and women of reproductive age hardest. And it's important to understand what role UPF consumption may play in it.
To find out, the researchers ran a systematic review, screening hundreds of published studies that measured both nutrient levels in the body and how much ultra-processed food people ate. Of the 377 studies screened, only 4 met the criteria, all cross-sectional studies conducted in children, pregnant women, and lactating women.
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Lower vitamin A, E, and selenium with more processed food
Across those four studies, higher intake of ultra-processed foods was linked to lower levels of several key nutrients:
- Carotenoids: plant pigments the body converts into vitamin A
- Vitamin A: essential for immune function, vision, and skin health
- Vitamin E: a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cells from damage
- Molybdenum: a trace mineral your body uses to make certain enzymes work
- Selenium: a mineral that supports thyroid and immune function
Higher intake was also linked to higher levels of gamma-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E found in processed vegetable oils), potassium, and sodium (very common in ultra-processed products).
In children, the data on ultra-processed foods and anemia was mixed, with some studies showing a link and others not. With only four eligible studies and a cross-sectional design, these are associations, not proof that processed food causes the drop in nutrients.
Why processed foods leave less room for key nutrients
When a large portion of your daily calories comes from packaged and processed products, there's less room on your plate (and even less appetite for) the whole foods that supply vitamin A, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids. Processed foods take up space in the diet without delivering much of what those nutrients do.
That's also why sodium and potassium showed up higher.
Ultra-processed foods tend to be loaded with sodium from preservatives and flavorings, and some carry added potassium from stabilizers.
Where to find the nutrients processed foods displace
Adding more whole foods that carry the specific nutrients flagged in this review is a straightforward way to close these gaps:
- Vitamin A and carotenoids: sweet potatoes, carrots, leafy greens like spinach and kale, eggs
- Vitamin E: sunflower seeds, almonds, avocado, olive oil
- Selenium: Brazil nuts (one or two a day covers it), tuna, sardines, eggs, chicken
- Molybdenum: legumes like lentils, black beans, and chickpeas, plus whole grains and nuts
The takeaway
Higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with lower levels of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoid. This study doesn’t mean you need to cut out processed foods entirely, but it does indicate that they impact (and hurt) your micronutrient levels.
Focus on adding more whole foods rich in these nutrients, like colorful fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, eggs, and seafood.