Singh AK, Gandotra A, Kumar S, Singh A, Kochhar R, Manrai M. Ultra-processed foods: Implications for gastrointestinal health. World J Gastroenterol 2025; 31(36): 109143 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i36.109143]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Manish Manrai, FRCPE, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Command Hospital, Cariappa Road, Cantonment, Lucknow 226002, Uttar Pradesh, India. manishmanrai75@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Anupam Kumar Singh, Shubham Kumar, Arjun Singh, Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India
Akash Gandotra, Department of Hepatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India
Rakesh Kochhar, Department of Gastroenterology, Paras Hospital, Panchkula 134109, India
Manish Manrai, Department of Gastroenterology, Command Hospital, Lucknow 226002, Uttar Pradesh, India
Author contributions: Manrai M and Kochhar R conceptualized and supervised the review study, and are involved with resources, editing, and validation; Singh AK, Gandotra A, Singh A, and Kumar S are engaged with resources and writing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interests in relation to the manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Manish Manrai, FRCPE, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Command Hospital, Cariappa Road, Cantonment, Lucknow 226002, Uttar Pradesh, India. manishmanrai75@gmail.com
Received: April 30, 2025 Revised: June 8, 2025 Accepted: August 25, 2025 Published online: September 28, 2025 Processing time: 142 Days and 9.3 Hours
Abstract
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are believed to contribute to the development of multiple chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic syndrome, based on epidemiological studies and emerging preclinical and clinical research. Several aspects of food processing and formulation in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases are currently being studied. Ongoing research emphasizes epidemiological evidence and mechanistic insights regarding UPFs and their interaction with the intestinal microbiota. In this review, we explore UPFs, their interaction with the intestinal microbiota, and the implications for gastrointestinal health.
Core Tip: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are believed to play a role in various chronic inflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic syndrome, based on epidemiological studies and emerging preclinical and clinical research. The recent development of a new classification for UPFs has improved our understanding of the connection between gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and UPFs. The introduction of this new classification system has expanded our knowledge about the role of ultra-processed foods in various GI disorders and their associations, although this research remains preliminary. Further research is needed to define specific thresholds of UPFs intake that could be considered harmful within daily diets. These thresholds should also account for differences across geographical locations and populations.
