by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mercola:
Story at-a-glance
- More than 85% of high ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumers meet clinical criteria for food addiction, including symptoms like cravings, withdrawal, and loss of control
- People who eat more UPFs report higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, confirming that these foods worsen mood and emotional health
- UPFs hijack your brain’s reward system, overstimulating feel-good chemicals like dopamine, opioids and endocannabinoids, which makes quitting feel nearly impossible
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- Damage to the gut microbiome caused by UPFs alters how your brain handles cravings and stress, increasing emotional eating and reducing impulse control
- Cutting out vegetable oils, which are high in linoleic acid, going cold turkey for five days and rebuilding gut health with whole foods helps break the addiction cycle and restore mood balance
One of the most dangerous addictions in modern life isn’t to alcohol, nicotine or opioids — it’s to food. Not real food, but ultraprocessed, chemically manipulated products that hijack your biology without you realizing it. You’re not just eating chips, crackers or frozen meals; you’re consuming substances specifically designed to bypass your brain’s natural brakes and keep you coming back.
This is why some people feel powerless around certain foods. You might tell yourself you’ll just have one cookie or a small portion of fries, but minutes later, you’ve lost track of how much you’ve eaten — and you’re already craving more. That’s not a failure of discipline. It’s a sign your body has been rewired.
Today’s ultraprocessed foods are built to manipulate the same brain circuits involved in drug addiction. They change your hunger cues, distort your emotional responses and fuel a cycle of cravings and regret that often feels impossible to break.
And for millions of people, the damage doesn’t stop at the waistline; it shows up in energy crashes, low mood, anxiety and a growing dependence on food to feel better, even temporarily. If you’ve ever wondered why you feel stuck in a pattern of emotional eating or why your cravings don’t respond to logic or hunger, the answer lies deeper than habit.
The science now shows how these foods alter your gut, your brain and your emotional resilience, long before any weight gain even begins. To understand what’s really happening inside your body and mind, we need to look at the latest research on ultraprocessed food addiction and how it’s changing the way you feel, think and function every day.
Food Addiction and Negative Mood Linked to Higher Ultraprocessed Food Intake
A cross-sectional study published in Food Science & Nutrition examined how mood disorders, food addiction and hedonic hunger influence the consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs).1 A total of 3,997 adults aged 18 to 65 in Ankara, Turkey participated.
Researchers used psychological and dietary questionnaires to analyze how people’s mental and emotional states correspond to their UPF habits. Participants reported on their mood, including symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, tendencies toward hedonic hunger — eating for pleasure rather than hunger — and signs of food addiction.
•Participants skewed young, female, single, and unemployed — Most participants were women (63%), with an average age of about 32. Among those who scored high for UPF consumption, the demographics skewed even younger and more female. Unemployed individuals and those who were single also showed significantly higher UPF intake.
This fits with broader research showing that women are more likely to use food for emotional regulation and are more sensitive to stress-induced cravings. The convenience and comfort of UPFs, combined with their low cost and heavy marketing, create the perfect storm for addiction, especially when traditional support systems are weak or absent.
•Food addiction was present in more than 85% of high UPF consumers — Among those classified as high UPF consumers, 86.7% met the threshold for food addiction. These individuals showed consistent behaviors like cravings, inability to cut back and eating despite negative consequences — hallmarks of addiction.
These patterns were measured using the Yale Food Addiction Scale, which adapts the same criteria used to diagnose substance use disorders. This suggests that UPFs are not just habit-forming; they behave more like addictive substances with real neurochemical hooks.
•Higher UPF intake was directly tied to worsened mood — The study showed a statistically significant link between UPF consumption and elevated symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. People who ate more processed foods felt worse emotionally and mentally, with stress and depression levels climbing steadily alongside their food addiction scores.
This wasn’t just about eating more junk food — it reflected emotional patterns and biological responses that lock users into a feedback loop of addiction.
•Those with high food addiction had the highest depression scores — Depression scores were notably higher in individuals who also showed signs of food addiction, suggesting that UPFs are used as a form of self-medication. The problem is that while these foods offer a quick mood boost, they ultimately drag mental health down even further. Participants in this group showed elevated stress, sleep disturbances and low mood, all while continuing to reach for more UPFs.
Addictive Patterns, Not Just Emotional Eating, Are Driving UPF Intake
While many assume people eat UPFs for the pleasure factor — taste, texture and reward — hedonic hunger by itself didn’t predict consumption as strongly as actual symptoms of food addiction and poor mental health. That means this isn’t just about enjoying sweets or comfort food. It’s about losing control, eating in secret and feeling withdrawal when trying to quit.
