
Are Ultra-Processed Foods Addictive?

Our cravings aren’t an accident. They’re a business model.
If you missed the previous videos in this series, check out:
• What Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• How Bad Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-bad-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• Which Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Worst in Driving the Association with Death and Disease? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/which-ultra-processed-foods-are-the-worst-in-driving-the-association-with-death-and-disease)
• Do the Health Impacts of Ultra-Processed Foods Apply to Plant-Based Meat Alternatives? (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/do-the-health-impacts-of-ultra-processed-foods-apply-to-plant-based-meat-alternatives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Food Additives (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-food-additives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Industrial Contaminants (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-industrial-contaminants)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Packaging Chemicals (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-packaging-chemicals)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Loss of Phytonutrients (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-loss-of-phytonutrients)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Texture (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-texture)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Calorie Density (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-calorie-density)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Structure (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-structure)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Addictive Properties (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-addictive-properties)
Stay tuned for the rest of this extended video series on ultra-processed foods, coming out over the next several months.
If you don’t want to wait for each video to be released, we’ve compiled all the information into a new book, Ultra-Processed Foods: Concerns, Controversies, and Exceptions (https://nutritionfacts.org/book/ultra-processed/).
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Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: https://nutritionfacts.org/translations-info/
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Video Summary
AI GeneratedThe video explains how the biological reward systems that once ensured human survival—driven by dopamine, serotonin, and opioids—have been hijacked by the food industry. By engineering \"bliss points\" in ultra-processed foods, companies create addictive products that mirror the chemical and behavioral patterns of drug addiction, such as compulsive use, tolerance, and withdrawal.
