Stop Demonizing Ultra-Processed Foods. They’re Not All Bad.

For years, ultra-processed foods have been enemy number one in the fitness and nutrition worlds. “Typical ultra-processed food items such as sugar-sweetened beverages, candies, and processed meats are known to inflict adverse health outcomes,” Xiaowen Wang, PhD, told Outside. Wang is a nutrition researcher at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. That “explains the highly consistent findings linking total ultra-processed food intake to higher risk of developing chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and premature deaths,” she said.

However, new research led by Wang and her team affirmed what several other studies have shown: the degree of processing a food undergoes may not affect our health as much as we thought. It may be the nutrient density of the food, rather than how it was made, that carries more weight in terms of its impact on health.

The study, recently presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s 2026 annual meeting, suggests that ultra-processed foods—such as whole-grain breads, dairy foods like Greek yogurt, and even protein bars—may support overall health, provided they use high-quality ingredients.

It’s probably time for us to stop demonizing ultra-processed foods, especially our beloved protein bars. Here’s what to know.

Ultra-Processed Foods Get a Bad Rep—but They’re Not All Bad

Foods are categorized by level of processing using the NOVA classification system. NOVA, which is not an acronym, was developed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. For example, a raw potato is unprocessed, boxed mashed potato mix is processed, and potato chips are ultra-processed. However, processing type doesn’t automatically reflect a food’s nutritional quality, Wang told me.

A cooked white potato, for example, is a whole food with no processing other than being cleaned after harvest. Boxed mashed potatoes, however, have undergone more processing and may contain additives. However, your favorite boxed mashed potatoes still contain nutrients—such as potassium—and some brands don’t include any artificial ingredients. This isn’t to say that you should eat boxed mashed potatoes with wanton abandon, but that processing type shouldn’t always be the deciding factor when looking for healthy food options.

In the journal study, Wang and her research team analyzed data from three studies that followed the dietary habits of more than 200,000 American adults between 1984 and 2021. They used a guide called the Plant-Based Diet Index to assess how much each participant ate plant-based versus animal foods, how healthy their diets were, and how frequently they consumed plant-based foods with varying levels of processing.

The researchers put the participants into four groups based on their diets: 1) healthy and ultra-processed; 2) healthy and minimally processed; 3) unhealthy and ultra-processed; 4) unhealthy and minimally processed.

During the study period, about half of the participants died or developed heart disease or type 2 diabetes. When the researchers compared health outcomes with diet, they found that healthy diets were associated with a lower risk of these outcomes, whereas unhealthy diets were associated with a higher risk. That’s the obvious and uninteresting result.

The surprising part is that the researchers found that both healthy groups—despite being labeled as ultra-processed or minimally processed—had similar positive health outcomes. Specifically, participants in group 1 who followed a healthy/ultra-processed diet showed a 14 percent lower risk of heart disease, 33 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and 11 percent lower risk of death. People in group 2, who ate a healthy/minimally-processed diet, also showed a reduced risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and death; those numbers were 18 percent, 34 percent, and seven percent, respectively.

Even though many people have come to associate “ultra-processed” with “unhealthy,” they’re not the same thing, Scott Keatley, RD, told Outside. Keatley is a registered dietitian and co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, a nutrition telehealth company. “The term ‘ultra-processed’ describes how a food was made, but it doesn’t necessarily tell us what that food contributes nutritionally,” he said. “Processing can also make nutritious foods more convenient, affordable, shelf-stable, or accessible.”

Which Ultra-Processed Foods Are Good for You?

Below are some foods that are ultra-processed and offer nutritional value:

• Whole-grain breakfast cereals
• Fortified plant-based milks
• Canned beans
• Canned fruits
• Dark chocolate
• Popcorn
• Peanut butter
• Protein bars, especially those low in sugar
• Frozen Greek yogurt bars
• String cheese
• Protein waffles and pancakes
• Frozen pizza (especially with added protein and/or cauliflower crust)
• Frozen burritos (look for ones loaded with vegetables and legumes)

“These are technically classified as ultra-processed, but they still provide essential nutrients, fiber, antioxidants, and bioactive compounds that support metabolism and gut health,” Wang said. “If an ultra-processed food is nutrient-dense, it can still make a very meaningful and beneficial contribution to a healthy diet.”

Can You Eat All of the Protein Bars You Want?

The answer to that is: not necessarily all you want, but you can certainly indulge in them when the mood strikes.

“Protein bars make hitting your daily needs more convenient, affordable, and tasty,” Lisa Moskovitz, RD, told Outside. Moskovitz is a registered dietitian and founder of The New York Nutrition Group, a nutrition practice that offers personalized diet plans. “Some brands even go a step further for additional functionality by adding in fiber and vitamins.”

Depending on their composition and protein quality, some protein bars can be filling, helping to reduce cravings between meals, Sandra Zhang, RD, a registered dietitian based in Boston, told Outside. And, according to Keatley, protein bars “can provide a portable source of protein and energy when the alternative might be skipping a meal or grabbing something that doesn’t meet your nutritional needs whatsoever.” So, if you’re traveling, working long hours, or exercising and can’t cook an elaborate meal, a protein bar can fill in the gaps, he said.

While you wouldn’t want to eat a diet of only protein bars, their biggest benefit, according to Keatley, is that “they can make an otherwise healthy eating pattern easier to maintain in real life.” You just need to choose the right ones.

If Protein Bars Are Your Thing, Look for These Ingredients

Not all protein bars are created equal. “It can support your health if it is formulated with high-quality, nutrient-dense ingredients like fiber, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, while keeping added sugars and sodium low, Wang said. It’s also a good idea to choose bars lower in saturated fats. This means picking a bar where saturated fats make up less than ten percent of the total calories.

Moskovitz suggests reading the label closely while looking at protein bars. “I recommend a minimum of ten grams of protein,” she said. “Bonus points if it also contains a few grams of digestion-supporting fiber.”

Zhang also suggested choosing bars with a short ingredients list or with ingredients you recognize.

But Keatley says it’s important to consider what you want to get out of your protein bar, beyond protein. That might mean you’re looking for extra carbs on a run, iron if you’re working on increasing your stores (especially if any of your past lab work has indicated low iron), or fiber if you’re working on improving gut health.

While the goal should still be to rely on minimally processed protein foods as much as possible, protein bars do have a place in any diet.

Keatley emphasized that the biggest takeaway is this: “Overall diet quality appears to be the stronger factor [when compared to processing level], and we shouldn’t discourage nutritious foods simply because they come in a package.”

About the medical reviewer: Kelly Jones is a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics and owner of Kelly Jones Nutrition, a nutrition communications consulting company as well as a private practice. As a nationally recognized expert, Kelly is regularly featured in broadcast and digital media, consults with brands on product development and marketing, works with national sports organizations and colleges, and assists global corporations with performance nutrition programming. With a plant-forward approach, she and her team of dietitians offer practical resources to help fuel those with busy, active lifestyles.

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