Authored by Jacqueline Tourville, WHN Managing Editor
The science on processed foods is becoming clearer — and more alarming. Processed foods aren’t just empty calories; they’re actively fueling chronic inflammation in the body, a low-grade, systemic condition that plays a central role in nearly every major disease – from heart disease and type 2 diabetes to autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and cancer. Even in our everyday lives, chronic inflammation is often at the root of fatigue, stubborn weight gain, brain fog, joint pain and other common women’s health concerns.
With over half of all calories in the average American diet coming from processed and ultra-processed foods — white bread, sodas, candy, pre-packaged meats, sugary cereals, salad dressings, potato chips, and more — the sad fact is that most of us are fueling system-wide chronic inflammation in our bodies all day, every day.
Here’s how this happens — and what you can do to take back your health.
What processed foods are really doing to your body
You probably already know that processed foods are missing essential nutrients like fiber, healthy fats, and key vitamins and minerals. But the real danger isn’t just in what these foods lack — it’s in what they contain.
Processed and ultra-processed foods are packed with additives like artificial preservatives, colorings, synthetic fillers, flavorings, highly refined sweeteners, emulsifiers, and binders. While these ingredients may extend shelf life and make foods taste and look better, your body doesn’t recognize them as food. It sees them for what they truly are: toxins.
When you eat processed foods, your liver — the body’s primary detox organ — has to work overtime to trap, break down, and eliminate harmful compounds. With the average American getting nearly 60% of their daily calories from processed foods, this means your liver is under constant pressure. And that’s before factoring in the additional burden of detoxing everything else coming into your system, including medications, alcohol, stress, hormonal byproducts, and environmental toxins.
Over time, this toxic overload can impair normal liver function, triggering inflammation in the liver itself. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition now affecting millions of women, is directly linked to diets heavy in processed foods.
Liver Care
Targeted antioxidant support for liver health and natural detoxification processes
And an inflamed liver doesn’t suffer in silence. It releases inflammatory chemicals called cytokines into your bloodstream — spreading low-grade, chronic inflammation throughout your entire body, damaging tissues and organs far beyond the liver.
But the danger of processed food additives doesn’t stop there.
Processed food additives are an inflammation machine
They disrupt your immune system. Because your body views so many of these additives as invading enemies, it can trigger immune responses that release even more inflammatory cytokines and histamines — basically, throwing fuel on the fire.
They damage your gut. Preservatives and artificial sweeteners disrupt the delicate balance of gut bacteria. This imbalance often causes local inflammation in the gut, triggering digestive symptoms like bloating and discomfort. Gut inflammation can also spread elsewhere in the body, contributing to health issues including acne, eczema, and food sensitivities and allergies. Over time, diets high in processed foods may degrade the gut lining, allowing harmful substances — bacteria, toxins, and undigested food — to pass into your bloodstream. This is known as leaky gut syndrome, a major contributor to chronic inflammation and poor nutrient absorption.
They cause blood sugar spikes. Many processed foods are full of refined sugars, which destabilize your body’s ability to maintain its blood sugar balance, triggering yet another inflammatory response. This rollercoaster of blood sugar highs and lows puts stress on the body and contributes to chronic inflammation-related conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancers.
They deplete your antioxidants. Antioxidant compounds help protect your body by neutralizing free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can cause inflammation and damage cells. Processed foods present a twofold problem here: the preservatives and chemical additives they contain can increase levels of free radicals. Processed foods are also typically low in natural antioxidants, which are found in greater abundance in whole, unprocessed foods. Without enough antioxidants, through diet or supplementation, your body will struggle to control inflammation.
Super C Plus
Advanced oxidative-stress protection & support for healthy inflammatory response
They inflame your blood vessels. Some food additives damage endothelial cells—the delicate lining of your blood vessels and digestive tract. This is a major contributor to vascular inflammation, which underlies heart disease and stroke.
Chronic disease has exploded — and it’s no coincidence
Sure, when consumed in small amounts on rare occasions, processed food additives probably won’t have much impact. But most us are eating so many processed foods that inflammation triggered by toxic additives isn’t occasional — it’s happening every single day, meal after meal, snack after snack.
So is it any wonder that at the same time that processed food intake has taken over the typical American diet, we’re also seeing a dramatic rise in chronic, inflammation-driven conditions across all age groups?
Here is a list of diseases related to chronic inflammation:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Autoimmune disorders
- Asthma and COPD
- Inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis
- Certain cancers — and how aggressively they progress
- Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
- Obesity
- Chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia
- Arthritis and joint disorders
- Psoriasis and other skin issues
- Gum disease
- Liver and kidney disease
We think the link between diet and disease is clear. Let’s stop ignoring it.
The good news? You have the power to reduce inflammation—starting with what’s on your plate
Small, daily changes can make a big difference. The Golden Rule: prioritize whole, unprocessed foods — fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and fats, and whole grains — and reduce your intake of processed convenience foods. For an easy way to transform your eating habits, start by following a Mediterranean style diet. Over time, not only will inflammation levels start to drop, but you’ll likely notice more energy, better digestion, improved mood, and less bloating too.
Ready to learn more about how and why to remove processed foods from your diet? Please read our full article, Think you know the dangers of processed foods? Prepare to be surprised, by Women’s Health Network expert, Caroline Morin, NBC-HWC.
Shop our solutions
Doctor-formulated, proven in practice and trusted by women for over 20 years
