How Ultraprocessed Foods Hijack Your Brain and Mood - AI Podcast
Jun 13, 2025•8 min
Episode description
Story at-a-glance
- More than 85% of high ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumers meet clinical criteria for food addiction, including symptoms like cravings, withdrawal and loss of control
- People who eat more UPFs report higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, confirming that these foods worsen mood and emotional health
- UPFs hijack your brain’s reward system, overstimulating feel-good chemicals like dopamine, opioids and endocannabinoids, which makes quitting feel nearly impossible
- Damage to the gut microbiome caused by UPFs alters how your brain handles cravings and stress, increasing emotional eating and reducing impulse control
- Cutting out vegetable oils, which are high in linoleic acid, going cold turkey for five days and rebuilding gut health with whole foods helps break the addiction cycle and restore mood balance
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