When cardiologist Eric Topol goes to the grocery store these days, his cart stands out among the crowd. It's no longer filled with boxes or packaged goods, he says it's largely just fresh produce — a big change from what he used to buy.
"I was reading a lot of labels, and now I avoid things with labels," Topol told Business Insider. "When I'm in the grocery store and I'm only buying produce, people look at me like, 'what's wrong with this guy?'"
It all happened about a year ago, as he was deep into research for his new bestselling book "Super Agers: An evidence-based approach to longevity." That's when he overhauled his relationship with packaged and mass-produced foods, cracking down on any ultra-processed food (UPF).
"I call 'em UFOs," Topol said. "A lot of those things I didn't realize were so full of bad things."
A key reason ultra-processed foods are bad: they're anti-fiber
Topol shops now using the common nutritional rule-of-thumb to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, the area where the fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, bulk grains, and frozen veggies are stored. It's those middle aisles full of ultra-processed products that he generally avoids.
As Topol explains in his new book, ultra-processed foods are "the polar opposite" of fiber, a key nutrient abundant in fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains, which we know is great for our long-term health in all different kinds of ways.
For example, fiber slows down and aids digestion, improves cholesterol, fosters the health of the gut microbiome, and even helps stabilize blood sugar. UPFs generally don't.
"What is referred to as the 'Western diet,' rich in ultra-processed foods, is pro-inflammatory and linked with metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and colon cancer," Topol's book says. His diet wasn't wildly unhealthy before, but he's become a more rigorous shopper as a result of his latest research.
"If it's packaged or boxed or canned, I know it's probably gonna be a problem," Topol said. "I'll check it out. Sometimes, you can be surprised."
Not all packaged foods are created equal
Ultra-processed food researchers say not all UPFs are equally unhealthy. Studies show that whole grain breakfast cereals and ultra-processed yogurts aren't as bad for you as hot dogs, packaged desserts, or sugar-sweetened drinks like soda and juice. That second group of foods is more consistently linked to poor long-term health outcomes, like higher rates of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Some cans and boxes in the grocery store aren't even ultraprocessed at all. A can of chickpeas or some black beans seasoned with salt, frozen vegetables, canned fish — these are simply processed foods. They aren't linked to all the same bad health outcomes as UPFs, instead, they're great shortcuts to help encourage more healthy eating at home.
Topol says his new shopping routine has morphed his daily diet in a near-effortless way. Plus, he doesn't have to spend so much time reading labels anymore, looking for the long list of ingredients he tries to avoid like high-fructose corn syrup, palm oil, artificial sweeteners, and more.
"I eat salad at night, I eat yogurt and some berries in the morning, and not a whole lot in between," he said. "It's a pretty healthy diet, I think."
