Blood, urine reveal ultra-processed foods
“Molecules in blood and urine can reveal how much of a person’s diet comes from ultra-processed foods — industrially manufactured items that often contain ingredients such as additives and emulsifiers. These measurements provide a way to track consumption of such foods that doesn’t rely on self-reporting — and would be useful for investigating links to diseases such as diabetes and cancer.”

PLOS Medicine, 20 May 2025

Identification and validation of poly-metabolite scores for diets high in ultra-processed food: An observational study and post-hoc randomized controlled crossover-feeding trial

Ultra-processed food (UPF) accounts for a majority of calories consumed in the United States, but the impact on human health remains unclear. We aimed to identify poly-metabolite scores in blood and urine that are predictive of UPF intake.