The verdict is final on UPFs (ultra-processed foods), and it should get more news attention than the UFO hype we put up with. Even if a UFO never lands on the White House lawn, every day millions of Americans are consuming cardiovascular poisons and loving it. These UPFs have been clearly shown to increase a variety of negative health outcomes and we should stop eating them now.
The European Heart Journal conducted a review of all the data and research on what these UPFs do to our cardiovascular health, and it is not pretty. Obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and death are included in the list of effects.
What is a UPF?
UPFs just mean that rather than a whole food without additives, the food you eat has been processed chemically by alterations, additions, and even subtractions. Ultimately, the problems multiply when artificial ingredients stack up and overshadow the natural ones. These extras are added to enhance flavor or shelf life or give it a little visual enhancement. They are not added for our health.
The Findings
Those who eat the most UPFs have: 19% higher heart disease risk, 13% higher atrial fibrillation, and up to a 65% higher risk of cardiovascular death.
UPFs are also linked to multiple other conditions that are then linked to early disease and death.
In England and Netherlands, over 50% of calories come from UPFs. While lower in other European countries, many still include over 20% of daily calories as UPFs.
Why the Silence?
Nutrition guidance takes time. The average medical visit does not leave time to spare. Writing a prescription is easier. Selling a prescription is easier. Most meds are cheaper for an insurance company than paying for nutrition education.
On the patient side, changes in daily nutrition patterns are easier said than done. UPF foods are often cheaper and easier than whole foods. Those artificial ingredients do back a flavor kick. Change is not easy for these and many other reasons
So, What to Do?
Ask yourself how long you want to live and how long do you need to see your grandkids grow up?
Then look at that UPFs on your plate or in the store middle aisles… and choose a healthier, more abundant life in whole foods.
Oh, and one more thing: if your doctor won’t address this with you, find a provider who will.
Original Article:
Luigina Guasti, Marialaura Bonaccio, Ana Abreu, Riccardo Asteggiano, Maira Bes-Rastrollo, Ruxandra Christodorescu, Giovanni de Gaetano, Marc Ferrini, Pedro Marques-Vidal, Atul Pathak, Dimitri Richter, Sukshma Sharma, Catarina Sousa Guerreiro, Bernard Srour, Saverio Stranges, Mathilde Touvier, Branislav Vohnout, Massimo Piepoli, Licia Iacoviello. Ultra-processed foods, lifestyle management, and cardiovascular diseases. European Heart Journal, 2026; DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag226
Thanks to Science Daily:
European Society of Cardiology. “Ultra-processed foods linked to higher risk of heart disease and early death.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 May 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260509210644.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Dr. Eric Potter graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School and then went on to specialize in internal medicine (adult) and pediatric care, spending significant time and effort in growing his medical understanding while caring for patients from all walks of life.
