Trump and RFK Jr. Overhaul U.S. Health Policy: Part Two: Ultra-Processed Foods

Trump and RFK Jr. Overhaul U.S. Health Policy

Part Two: Ultra-Processed Foods

By Gary F. Zeolla

This multi-part article is continued from Trump and RFK Jr. Overhaul U.S. Health Policy: Part One: Food Dyes, which appeared in the previous issue of FitTips for One and All (V23N5).

Hamburger Patty vs. Vege-Burger

Hamburger Patty:

Ingredient: Beef,

Vege-Burger:

Ingredients: Water, Yellow Pea Protein, Avocado Oil, Natural Flavors, Brown Rice Protein, Red Lentil Protein, 2% or less of Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Pea Starch, Potassium Lactate (to preserve freshness), Faba Bean Protein, Apple Extract, Pomegranate Concentrate, Potassium Salt, Spice, Vinegar, Vegetable Juice Color (with Beet) (Beyond Burger).

The traditional position of many health experts and the US government has been that the latter is healthier than the former, despite the former being a relatively natural and minimally processed food, while the latter is highly processed.

The main reason for that position is the former is rather high in saturated fat (5g for a 3-ounce patty), while the latter is lower in saturated fat (2g). But both have about the same amount of fat overall (14 grams). And 5 grams versus 2 grams is not that great of a difference.

Meta AI comments in this regard:

You’re right, the difference isn’t huge. A Beyond Meat burger has 14g of total fat and 5g of saturated fat, while a typical 3-ounce hamburger patty has around 13-14g of total fat and 5-5.2g of saturated fat. So, the nutritional profiles are pretty similar.

Some key points to consider:

Protein content: Beyond Meat burger has 20g of protein, comparable to a beef patty.

Sodium: Beyond Meat burger has 350mg of sodium, while a beef patty typically has around 75mg.

Cholesterol: Beyond Meat burger has 0mg cholesterol, whereas beef patties contain around 80mg.

Overall, Beyond Meat burgers can be a good option for those looking for plant-based protein, but it’s essential to consider the overall nutritional profile and ingredients.

That higher sodium content for the vege-burger could be problematic for salt-sensitive people, which is to say, that higher sodium content would negate any benefit from the lower sat fat content, resulting in products with equal heart-disease risks. In addition, with so many ingredients, those with food allergies need to read the label carefully. I could not eat this product, as I am sensitive to avocados.

Meta AI comments on my comments:

You’re spot on! The higher sodium content in Beyond Meat burgers can be a concern for salt-sensitive individuals, potentially offsetting the benefits of lower saturated fat. It’s a trade-off between sodium and saturated fat content.

And great point on the ingredient list! With multiple components, it’s crucial for those with food allergies or sensitivities to scrutinize the label. Avocado sensitivity would indeed make this product a no-go.

But the problems with ultra-processed foods go beyond just their sodium content and long list of ingredients.

Other Issues with Ultra-Processed Foods

On July 22, 2025, CNN ran an article titled, Eating this ultraprocessed food may be good for you and the planet, experts say. Despite the title, the article stated:

Plant-based meats have an image problem….

By their very nature, plant-based meats are ultraprocessed, an increasingly dirty word to many people, including members of the “Make America Healthy Again“ movement. To mimic the fibrous structure of meat, faux versions may undergo 3D printing, extreme heat and cold manipulations and extrusion processes similar to those applied to ultraprocessed foods.

Alternative meats also contain natural and artificial additives such as binders, emulsifiers, dyes, flavorings, stabilizers and preservatives. The Impossible Burger, for example, uses a genetically modified organism, or GMO, to create heme, a molecule that recreates the red color and bleeding typical of beef….

Plant-based meats also struggle due to their traditionally high levels of salt and saturated fat — both leading players in developing heart disease, the No. 1 killer worldwide.

Why then the title? The article also states:

“The fat composition of beef is so undesirable for health that it’s very easy to be better than that,” Willett said. “Animal products not only have too much saturated fat but lack polyunsaturated fat, fiber and many of the minerals and vitamins available in plants.

But adding a salad with olive oil with a hamburger would provide monounsaturated fat (which is actually better than polyunsaturated fat), fiber, and those minerals and vitamins. In other words, foods are not eaten in a vacuum. The overall composition of a meal is what matters most.

As for being better for the planet, the article claims, “replacing a beef burger with a plant-based patty can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98% and land use by up to 97%.” That is a complex issue with many factors to consider beyond just replacing a beef burger with a vege-burger. I address such in my book Creationist Diet: Second Edition. Only the reader can decide if such a claim matters to you.

But one thing is certain, the problem with ultra-processed foods does not end there. A month after publishing the preceding article CNN published a retraction of sorts. On August 4, 2025 it ran an article titled, Eating minimally processed meals doubles weight loss even when ultraprocessed foods are healthy, study finds. The first link is the afore-quoted article.

It states:

People in the United Kingdom lost twice as much weight eating meals typically made at home than they did when eating store-bought ultraprocessed food considered healthy, the latest research has found.

“This new study shows that even when an ultraprocessed diet meets nutritional guidelines, people will still lose more weight eating a minimally processed diet,” said coauthor Dr. Kevin Hall, a former senior investigator at the US National Institutes of Health who has conducted some of the world’s only controlled clinical trials on ultraprocessed foods.

There is just something about ultra-processed foods that leads to weight gain.

“One possible explanation is that (people on the minimally processed diet) did not like the ‘healthy’ meals as much as their usual diets,” Nestle, who was not involved in the research, wrote in the editorial.

“They deemed the minimally processed diet less tasty,” Nestle said. “That diet emphasized ‘real’ fresh foods, whereas the ultra-processed diet featured commercially packaged ‘healthy’ ultra-processed food products such as fruit, nut, and protein bars; sandwiches and meals; drinking yoghurts, and plant-based milks.”

I would say it is not so much that ultra-processed foods are more “tasty,” but it is what people are used to eating. As a result, when they eat real food, it just does not taste “right” to them. I would also suggest that the high salt and fat content of ultra-processed foods and their low bulk due to lack of fiber and water content leads to them being easier to overeat. And there is the advertising that pushes them, conditioning us to want such fake foods.

“Ultra-processed foods are designed to fire up cravings and desire for these foods, and advertising — which is everywhere — reinforces those urges,” Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, said recently. “It is not the fault of the consumer that they long for ultra-processed foods. But it is up to us to recognize the manipulation by food companies and to take control of what we choose to eat” (Health Day. Why Is American Food So Unhealthy?)

Parkinson Disease and Cancer

Ultra-processed foods like breakfast cereals, soft drinks, hot dogs and ketchup appear to increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a new study says….

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder that causes people to shake, become stiff or have trouble with their balance and coordination. It occurs when the brain cells that create the hormone dopamine die or become impaired, according to the National Institute on Aging….

Ultra-processed foods tend to contain high levels of unhealthy nutrients like excess sugar, sodium and saturated fats, which might explain their link to Parkinson’s, researchers said. Food additives also might contribute to brain-damaging inflammation (Health Day. Ultra-Processed Foods Raise Parkinson’s Disease Risk, via Newsmax).

My paternal grandmother died of Parkinson’s Disease, so I know how devastating it can be. And here we see ultra-processed foods may play a potential role in its development. This connection alone should be an incentive to reduce the intake of ultra-processed foods for anyone who has seen a relative deteriorate due to this devastating disease. But it still does not end there.

Right now, colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). While this type of cancer has traditionally affected older adults, those rates have declined over the past several decades for people 65 and older and the rates in people under the age of 50 have risen….

Researchers aren’t completely sure why this is happening, but a new study in JAMA Oncology sheds some light on a possible culprit—a diet high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs). By looking at data from more than 29,000 women, the study found that those who ate a diet with the highest amount of ultra-processed foods had a 45% higher risk of developing adenomas (a type pre-cancerous polyp) compared to those women who consumed the lowest levels of UPFs….

Ultra-processed foods may be a contributor to chronic inflammation, metabolic syndrome (which includes diabetes), and being overweight all of which are risk factors for developing colorectal cancer, says Dr. Chan. They can also throw off the beneficial bacteria living in your gut (Good Housekeeping. New study shows this type of food may increase your risk of cancer (via WTAE).

That last point is quite important. Given that ultra-processed foods are so new, our bodies have not adapted to their consumption. Part of that lack of adaptation is our gut microbes are thrown off. That can have ramifications for the development of many illnesses beyond just colorectal cancer. It also can be a cause of constipation.

“What exactly are ultra-processed foods?”

The answer lies in the NOVA food classification system, which categorizes foods based on their level of processing. According to the system, UPFs are industrially made food products that contain multiple, unnatural additives. Some of these ingredients include high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed proteins, artificial flavors, colors, and enhancers, and higher levels of salt, sugar, oil or saturated fats—things commonly food in foods at grocery stores. In fact, an estimated 70% of the U.S. food supply is comprised of UPFs, according to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Good Housekeeping. New study shows this type of food may increase your risk of cancer (via WTAE).

The Nova system has four levels of processing, from “Group 1 Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Foods” to “Group 4 Ultra-Processed Foods” (EatRightPro. Examining the Nova Food Classification System and the Healthfulness of Ultra-Processed Foods).

The preceding page explains and provides examples for each of the four groups. But sometimes things are not quite so simple as saying the less processed a food is, the healthier it is, while the more processed the food is, the less healthy it is. This same page states:

A recent study published in Diabetes Care, which analyzed three large prospective cohort studies, found that while an overall diet containing a higher level of ultra-processed foods increased the risk of Type 2 diabetes, there were some subgroups of ultra-processed foods — namely breakfast cereals, whole-grain breads, yogurt and dairy-based foods — that lowered this risk. This finding raises the question of whether a food categorized as ultra-processed under the Nova system might be miscalculated and could be included as a regular part of healthful eating pattern.

However, it must be noted, whole-grain breads and yogurt, through processed, are of the type of processing that humans have been doing for thousands of years, since biblical times. That is the main theme of my Creationist Diet book. Foods mentioned in the Bible tend to be healthy foods. That is because the processing methods of those times were minimal. Yes, it takes lot of steps to make bread, but it is all of the types easily done at home, not requiring modern day commercial processing methods.

Bread in fact is mentioned 346 times in the Bible (NKJV). Yogurt is not mentioned, though other fermented dairy foods are potentially mentioned multiple times, but it is a matter of translation and the difficulty of the exact identification of foods. One possible reference is Deuteronomy 32:14. For it, the ALT has “butter” for the Greek and “curds” for the Hebrew. It clearly refer to some kind of dairy food, since it is said to be “of cows.” Some think it was a fermented food or “curdled milk” (Holladay lexicon), hence “yogurt” in some versions (NLT).

Conclusion

There is little doubt ultra-processed foods are a health risk. From obesity to diabetes, from constipation to colorectal cancer, from chronic inflammation to Parkinson’s Disease, all are associated with a high intake of ultra-processed foods.

A basic thesis of my books on Nutrition and the Bible is to consume mostly whole, natural foods and only processed foods of the types that could be consumed in biblical times and to avoid the new ultra-processed foods of the past century. Though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might not word it that way, he would be in total agreement with the end result. That will be seen in Part Three of this series when we explore the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans put out by RFK Jr. and his associates at the USDA. It will be posted on this website after it appears in the next issue of FitTips for One and All.

Nutrition and the Bible

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Creationist Diet: Second Edition
A Comprehensive Guide to Bible and Science Based Nutrition

Creationist Diet: First Edition
Nutrition and God-given Foods According to the Bible

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Disclaimers: The material presented in this article is intended for educational purposes only. The author is not offering medical or legal advice. Accuracy of information is attempted but not guaranteed. Before undertaking any diet, exercise, or health improvement program, one should consult your doctor. The author is in no way responsible or liable for any bodily harm, physical, mental, or emotional, that results from following any of the advice in this article.

The above article was posted on this site February 1, 2026.
It originally appeared in the free email newsletter FitTips for One and All.

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