Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Risk: Scientific Evidence and Trends

"How America Got Hooked on Ultraprocessed Foods"

Author: Jessica Attie | New York Times | October 25, 2025

Introduction

Humans have processed food for millennia—from fire-cooked meat to ground grains and preserved goods. By the late 1800s, industrial food production introduced formulations fundamentally different from traditional preparation methods.

👉 Processing often disrupts naturally occurring phytochemical systems, including flavonoids and polyphenols →

Coca-Cola (1886), Jell-O (1897), and Crisco (1911) marked the early transition, followed by highly engineered products such as Spam, Velveeta, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Oreos. By the mid-20th century, increasing workforce participation and time constraints accelerated reliance on industrial food systems.  

In the 1950s and ’60s, more women began working outside of the home but were still expected to feed their families.

1970s-1990s - An Ultraprocessed Food Explosion

This shift reflects a fundamental change in how food is structured, moving away from whole botanical inputs toward highly engineered formulations designed for stability, palatability, and scale. These patterns are directly addressed within botanical formulation systems that aim to restore metabolic balance through structured plant-based inputs →

👉 Continue Reading: How America Got Hooked on Ultraprocessed Foods →

Research Context

This article contributes to Bruce A. Cosgrove's broader research into Applied Botanical Chemistry and the scientific principles underlying Botanical Systems Formulations™ →

The research examines how plant-derived compounds, phytochemical interactions, bioavailability, dose architecture, and delivery design can inform structured approaches to botanical formulation and health-focused applications.

🧬 Explore Botanical Systems™ Science →

Botanical Systems™ Science provides the scientific framework for examining phytochemical interactions, bioavailability, and systems-level plant chemistry.

🌿 Download the Free Botanical Systems Formulation Protocol™ →