Limit ultra-processed food

Build most meals from whole or minimally processed foods, and treat packaged snacks and fast food as extras.

How often: Daily
Time: Part of meals
Recommended for: 12 factors

How to do it

Learn the signs on an ingredient list, such as added colors, flavors, emulsifiers, thickeners and sweeteners. Sugar and sodium appear under many names.
Cook at home more often, and make extra for leftovers so the convenient option is real food.
Swap snacks: fruit, raw vegetables with hummus, plain yogurt, unsalted nuts or roasted chickpeas instead of chips and packaged sweets.
Choose whole-grain bread with a whole grain listed first, and plain oats or shredded wheat over sugary cereal.
Drink water instead of soda and other sugary drinks.

Why it helps

Ultra-processed foods are made to be cheap, shelf-stable and easy to overeat. Higher intake is linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and earlier death. In one small trial, people ate about 500 more calories a day on an ultra-processed diet. Not all processed food is a problem. Frozen vegetables, canned beans and fortified whole-grain cereals can all fit a healthy diet.

SourcesProcessed Foods and Health (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source)How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label (FDA)

Recommended for

occupation

Airline pilot

Long seated duty days across time zones and through the night.

5 risks · 15 practices habit

Binge-watching on the couch

One more episode, slumped into the cushions, snack within reach.

4 risks · 12 practices occupation

Content creator

Streaming, editing and gaming for hours, often late into the night.

6 risks · 18 practices habit

Eating out often

Restaurants, takeout and delivery for most meals of the week.

4 risks · 8 practices habit

High-stress periods

Deadlines, money worries, a move, a loss, or all of them at once.

5 risks · 12 practices habit

Intermittent fasting

Eating only in a set window, or skipping food on certain days.

4 risks · 6 practices habit

Living alone

Your own space and schedule, and nobody else around by default.

4 risks · 10 practices habit

Night shift work

Awake when your body expects to sleep, asleep when the world is loud.

5 risks · 13 practices occupation

Nurse

Twelve-hour shifts on your feet, lifting, turning and rarely sitting down.

6 risks · 17 practices habit

Plant-based diet

Vegan or vegetarian eating, built on beans, grains, nuts and produce.

5 risks · 8 practices occupation

Rideshare and delivery driver

In and out of the car all day, on a clock, chasing the next order.

4 risks · 14 practices occupation

Truck driver

Long hours behind the wheel, irregular sleep and food from truck stops.

5 risks · 16 practices