If you have been consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like instant ramen or protein bars without checking the ingredients, think again. They contain substances that don’t pop out of a regular pantry, like protein isolates and modified starches. What stands out as alarming is a recent study showing how UPFs are likely to get you hooked on them like smoking. Instead of being closer to fruits or vegetables, they can be as addictive as cigarettes. UPFs need tighter regulations, the report notes.
The “reward circuit” in our brain, or the mesolimbic dopamine system, experiences a surge in dopamine— the “feel good” chemical. Nicotine triggers this dopamine boost, and UPFs mimic that with other methods and materials. Dopamine also signals the brain to “remember” the stuff that gave the pleasure, intensifying cravings.
According to a Harvard study, UPFs and cigarettes activate the brain’s reward pathway in similar ways. The manufacturers try to optimize the “doses” to make this happen. UPFs combine refined sugars and fats in ratios not found in nature, which makes them addictive. UPFs are easy to digest, triggering the reward system quickly with a dopamine surge. The worst part is how the dopamine system goes “numb” to usual intakes of UPFs over time, and the brain signals for higher intake to experience the same pleasure.
Many of these products claim to be “low fat” or “sugar-free,” but offer little to no meaningful benefit and can serve as a facade to stall regulations. A similar advertisement ran rampant in the 1950s to reduce the risk from smoking by introducing “cigarette filters.”
One of the authors, Prof Ashley Gearhardt of the University of Michigan, a clinical psychologist specialising in addiction, said her patients made the same links: “They would say, ‘I feel addicted to this stuff, I crave it – I used to smoke cigarettes [and] now I have the same habit but it’s with soda and doughnuts. I know it’s killing me; I want to quit, but I can’t.’”
Most of the time, people start to get addicted while consuming in moderation, but as the habit grows, the same amount doesn’t satiate. It pushes individuals to consume more of the stuff and get even more addicted. While smoking tobacco can be expunged, food is necessary for survival. This demands stringent regulations and safety standard checks because the modern food environment is heavily built upon ready-to-serve UPFs.
UPFs should be marketed as alcoholic beverages, which are separately marketed from regular drinks. They are designed to promote compulsive use, and whether their addictive nature is factored in or not, they have been shown to affect health negatively.
It is still not known if the contents of the UPFs cause addictive behavior or the lack of protective phytochemicals, fiber and micronutrients drive it. The distinction is required to decide whether the regulations should mirror steps used to reduce tobacco consumption, or require a change in dietary quality of UPFs.
A puff of smoke or swig of soda doesn’t differ much in how they work, and neither does doomscrolling. Casinos use bright lights and funky music to attract customers, and even a small win takes a person deeper into gambling. Moreover, addiction to UPFs can foster a generation plagued by cardiovascular issues and obesity from an young age.
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