Engineered Diets: The Reality Behind Ultra Processed Foods.

Your body knows the truth… even when the label doesn’t.

If you’ve ever eaten something labeled “high protein,” “keto,” or “clean” and still felt hungry, tired, or craving more — this episode is for you.

We break down processed vs ultra-processed foods in a way that actually makes sense, including:
 • Why “healthy” labels can be misleading
 • How ultra-processed foods impact cravings, energy, and satiety
 • Simple ways to shop and eat with more clarity

Plus, a practical framework you can use at the grocery store and when dining out — without becoming obsessive.

🎧 Listen now to simplify your choices and feel better

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Transcript

Welcome And Series Recap

Krista 0:11

Welcome to Serenity and Fire, the podcast where wellness meets grit. I'm your host, Krista Quadenti, founder of Panthea Luxuries on Boutique. Join me as we dive into the intriguing world of biohacking, clean living, cutting-edge spot trends, and the hustle crime and grit of entrepreneurship. My personal battles with weight management and fertility and the 30-year journey to create and launch my dream business. Building a sanctuary for those who have been touched by cancer. I'm here to share a world talk, inspire big dreams, and spark a passion for holistic living inside each and every one of you. So let's dive in. Welcome back to Serenity and Fire for part two of our conversation on processed and ultra-processed foods. In part one, if you remember, we broke down the foundation, what processed foods actually are, the difference between processed and ultra-processed foods, how ultra-processed foods affect blood sugar, inflammation, hormones, collagen, and skin, and why external wellness treatments can support the body, but can never override a dysfunctional internal environment. Today, I want to move from the physiology piece of this into application, because once you understand the science, the next question then becomes what do I actually do with this information in real life? So in this episode, we're going to talk about what the Maha movement is trying to change, why dietary guidelines need to evolve, how to think about good versus more problematic ultra-processed foods, what this means if you eat low-carb keto or paleo, and how to navigate the grocery store and restaurant world without becoming obsessive, fearful, or confused. Because the goal here is not dietary perfection. Nothing we talk about on this show is ever about perfection. The goal, though, is discernment. So let's get into it. And by the way, I am still rocking my chipmunk uh face from having my dental work done, but I'm hoping this is going to be over with here in the next week or two. Anyways, let's get into the Maha movement. This is the Make America Healthy Again movement. Its growing initiative focuses on reducing ultra-processed food consumption, increasing transparency in food labeling, reforming dietary guidelines, and addressing chronic disease at a systemic level. Because right now, regardless of what side of the aisle you represent or stand for or stand on, whatever you want to say, the truth is that a huge percentage of the modern American diet is made up of ultra-processed foods, and that has consequences. So I want to go a layer deeper into what is actually happening with the Maha movement because this is not just a general wellness trend. This is a systemic shift. And when we say that Maha is pushing for policy-level intervention, what that means is this: they're not just encouraging individuals to eat better. They're trying to change the systems that shape our food environment. Because right now, most people are not making food decisions in a vacuum. They're making decisions based on what's available, affordable, convenient, what's marketed to them, what their children are fed, and what's normalized. So Maha is targeting those systems directly. For example, they're advocating for changes in school meal programs, they're reducing ultra-processed food exposure early in life, they're pushing for clearer labeling, and they're asking for more transparency around additives, ingredients, and formulations. They're working to shift dietary guidelines and they're challenging the way we think about chronic disease prevention. And they're making a shift from nutrient-centric foods to food system centricity. And this is critical because under a purely nutrient-centric model, you can create a product that is high protein, low sugar, low fat, fortified with vitamins, and marketed as functional, and still have it be a highly engineered, ultra-processed product that does not support metabolic health, satiety, or physiology. So the argument is we need to stop asking only what nutrients are in this food and start asking what was done to this food to make it exist in this particular form. And that is a fundamentally different lens because a nutrient-centric model can be manipulated. A food system-centric model asks much deeper questions like: is this food structurally intact? How much of the original food remains? Was it extracted, fractionated, reconstructed, flavored, stabilized, or texturized? And does it support satiety, stability, and nourishment, or is it engineered primarily for convenience, stimulation, and overconsumption? So when we look at policy-level intervention, what we actually mean is that they're influencing things like agricultural subsidies, food manufacturing standards, school and institutional food procurement, front-of-package labeling, which is really important, and I'm going to get into that here in just a minute, marketing regulations, especially around children, public health messaging, and the dietary standards used to guide government programs and recommendations. Because the current system quite simply just heavily favors ultra-processed food production. So this is not just about personal responsibility, it's about restructuring the environment people are making decisions within. And that matters because if the environment is stacked against real food, convenience will always win. Now we don't want to swing into fear-based thinking because not all ultra-processed foods are equally harmful. For example, you can have a clean protein powder, fortified foods, certain yogurts, some plant-based products, and some convenience products. They may technically be classified as ultra-processed, but can still have a place in a well-structured lifestyle. Also, convenience matters, accessibility matters, and so does budget, time, and real life. So the goal is not perfection, the goal is discernment. Now let's make this very practical because I want you to be able to walk into a store and actually apply all of the things I'm talking about. There are absolutely ultra-processed foods that can be used strategically. For example, clean protein powders, brands like equip foods, just ingredients, levels, or even sprout living. Sprout living is one that I use and that I love. These are still processed, but they tend to use more minimal, recognizable ingredients and fewer artificial additives. Would something like Sprout Living be considered a good one? Generally, yes. It would fall into the category of a more intentional, cleaner, ultra-processed product that may be used strategically. Now compare that to many conventional protein powders, which often include artificial sweeteners, gums and emulsifiers, multiple flavoring systems, thickeners, and additive heavy formulations designed for hyperpalatability. Same category, very different impact. Now let's look at snack bars or protein bars. And I want to talk about specifically IQ bars, because they're a good example of something that may be better than conventional candy bar style protein bars, but they are still engineered snack products. They still often contain processed fibers, flavor systems, sweeteners, or formulation choices that make them more of a strategic convenience item than a foundational food. And that's a bummer for me because I love IQ bars and I also love that they have adaptogens in them. So that's kind of a bummer, but let's talk about where they stand. They're not terrible, they're better than many alternatives, but they're still not the same thing as getting your nourishments from whole foods. And then when we look at low carb and keto bread products, a brand like Carbonaut, which I brought a label for you to take a look at, is a great example here because Carbonot is marketed as a low-carb, keto-friendly product. So here's the packaging. I don't know if you can see this in the camera. Um, but you can see here that it says, welcome back to Planet Bagel, Carbonaut. And on the front it says this is keto certified, it's non-GMO verified, it's gluten-free. It has only three grams of net carbs, 100 calories per bagel, and 32 grams of fiber, and it's plant-based. Sounds pretty amazing. It's marketed really, really well. But the reality is that the ingredients in this are resistant tapioca andor resistant potato starch, water, hyoleic sunflower oil, inulin, bamboo fiber, andor oat fiber, psilium, fava bean protein, modified cellulose, cultured rice flour, xanthem gum, rice bran, phonio grain, poppy seeds, natural flavor, yeast, minced onions, sunflower lecithin, salt, flaxseeds, dried parsley, and garlic powder. Now, it's not to say that some of the ingredients in there aren't phenomenal ingredients. But from a processing standpoint, this one is highly engineered. And I was so bummed because I'm low carb and I'm also gluten-free. And I was so excited when I found it, thinking it was a great food. And then I took it to my health nutritionist and she was like, no, that is not a good food. Because it uses modified fibers and ingredient systems designed to mimic bread without the traditional food structure. So again, low carb, gluten-free does not mean low processing. And then when we look at plant milks, let's look at better versus worse. So when we look at almond and coconut milks, many of those contain emulsifiers, gum, carrageenin, stabilizers, long ingredient lists, and flavor systems. These are the ones that I would consider more problematic. If you're choosing a nut milk or a coconut milk, better options are going to be the ones with minimal ingredients, ideally something like water, almonds or coconut, and maybe salt. Examples of more minimal ingredient brands might include mulk organics, that's M-A-L-K, as in Krista, or three trees. Those are generally better choices than more conventional additive heavy plant milks. Now let's talk about something called nutritional yeast. I'm not sure if you're aware of what this is. It's something that I kind of discovered a couple of years ago and I love the flavor of it. But what is it? So this is a deactivated yeast that's often fortified with B vitamins and used frequently in plant-based diets. It's technically processed, but functionally it can be very beneficial because it can help fill nutrient gaps, especially in people avoiding animal products, and it tends to be used as a functional support ingredient rather than a hyperpalatable engineered food. And it tastes really good, so you can use it to flavor things. So give it a try. Okay, now let's talk about yogurt. Some yogurts may technically fall into the ultra-process category depending on how they are made and what is added, but can still be useful. Examples of yogurts that can be good options include plain Greek yogurt, certain higher protein yogurts, and simpler cultured yogurts with lower sugar and fewer additives. And then there's a coconut yogurt called cocoa june. And I brought the container for that too. And this does come in several different flavors. Again, this one, um, cocoa june. It says organic cultured coconut plant-based and probiotic pure coconut. Ingredients are organic coconuts, spring water, um, organic tapioca. I've seen some that have cassava root in them, and then vegan probiotic cultures. Only a few ingredients seems pretty healthy and simple when you look at the label off the cuff. But I want to take a pause here and address something that I can feel is very confusing to a lot of people because this is where people really do get stuck. When you look at a product like this, like I said, it seems very clean. And naturally the question then becomes how something like this still considered an ultra-processed food? But the fact of the matter is, is it is an ultra-processed food. And this is where we need to understand a critical distinction. The classification of ultra-processed foods is not based solely on how clean or simple the ingredient list looks. It's based on how the food is manufactured. So even with clean ingredients like what I just read to you from Coco June, a product like this typically goes through processes such as breaking down the coconut into components, recombining them into a standardized product, using cassava root or tapioca as a functional thickener to create a specific texture, applying controlled fermentation and industrial processing techniques, and packaging it as a ready-to-eat product designed for convenience, consistency, and shelf life. So, from a technical standpoint, it's still considered an ultra-processed food. But, and this is really where the nuance matters, is that it does not automatically make it harmful. In fact, this is what I would consider a high-quality ultra-processed food because it still provides beneficial probiotic cultures. It also has minimal ingredients that are actually recognizable, and it has no artificial additives or emulsifiers. So the better question is not simply, is this ultra-processed, but rather how far has this food been removed from its original structure and why? Because not all processing is done for the same reasons. Some foods are engineered to support physiology, others are engineered to override it. And understanding that difference is where your power comes from. Coco June, for example, may still be considered ultra-processed under a strict classification model, but relative to more problematic ultra-processed foods, it's in a very different category. It likely supports gut health more than it harms it for many people. It is lower risk, it is cleaner, and it can absolutely fit into a high-functioning diet. So now I want to address a very thoughtful question that might be coming up for you at this point. If we're gonna say that Cocoa June is considered ultra-processed because the coconut is broken down and reconstructed, wouldn't we say the same thing or have the same philosophy about something like olive oil? Because after all, olives are also broken down into the extract oil. And this is where an important distinction comes into play because not all extraction is the same as ultra-processing. For example, olive oil is what we would call a processed culinary ingredient. It's typically made through mechanical pressing. So the olive is crushed and then the oil is extracted, but it's not fundamentally re-engineered or recombined into something structurally new. It's still a direct derivative of the original food. There are no added functional ingredients, there is no reconstruction of multiple components into a novel product. And most importantly, it's not designed for hyperpalatability or overconsumption in isolation. Whereas something like coconut yogurt, even with clean ingredients, is taking multiple components, assigning them functional roles, and recombining them into a specific texture or experience. So the distinction is not was the food altered because olive oil is altered. The distinction is was the food extracted or was it engineered and reformulated? And that is what separates traditional processing from ultra processing. Now at this point, you might be thinking, how am I supposed to know which foods are engineered to support my physiology and which ones are not? Because I'm not a food scientist, and that's a very fair question. So let me simplify this into something that you can actually use on a day-to-day basis. There are three signals your body gives you, and there are three things you can observe. When it comes to the three-body signals, the first one is satiety. Foods that support your physiology tend to keep you full, grounded, and stable. Foods that are engineered against your physiology, however, tend to make you want more. A perfect example of that is the other morning my husband and I made breakfast and we decided to do bagel sandwiches and bacon. And I did one of those carbonut bagels. We had sliced tomatoes, a side of bacon. It was plenty to eat. But after I ate, I felt myself feeling still hungry, which is absolutely ridiculous. But now that you've heard all the ingredients that are in those carbonat bagels, you understand why. Okay, the second signal your body gives you is going to be cravings. After eating, do you feel satisfied? Or do you feel like you want something else, something sweet, crunchy, or even more? That's often a sign of engineered hyperpalatability, which is kind of disgusting and super frustrating at the same time. Because how is it that these food companies can manufacture and create these foods to make you crave more? It's not you. You've probably had plenty to eat, but the foods were engineered to make you feel that way, which in my opinion is disgusting. And then the third signal is going to be your energy levels. Do you feel steady and clear, or do you feel like you've had a spike followed by a drop? Whatever's happening, that should tell you a lot about what's going on with the food. And then when you look at the three things that you can observe, the first one is going to be ingredient simplicity. Can you recognize and understand what's actually in the product? Second, structural integrity. Does it still resemble the original food or has it been transformed into something novel? And then third is going to be intent. Does this food feel like it was designed to nourish or does it feel like it was designed to entertain, stimulate, or keep you eating? Because many ultra-processed foods are designed for experience, not nourishment. And once you start paying attention to those patterns, you do not need to be an expert. Your body will tell you what's going on. And I think now that you know what these signals are, and when you start feeling them, you can kind of retrain your brain and also better select the types of foods that make you feel full and not make you feel more hungry. Okay, so to make this even more practical, I want to give you a simple framework that you can use in real time. Think of ultra-processed foods in three tiers. The first tier is going to be your minimize or avoid tier. These are foods that are going to be highly engineered for hyperpalatability and overconsumption. Again, things like soda, packaged desserts, candy, highly processed snack foods, fast food, and additive heavy ready meals. These are the foods most strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction and inflammation. And then your second tier, you want to use those foods strategically. These are foods that are technically alter-processed but can serve a functional purpose. For example, clean protein powders, certain yogurts like Coco June, some fortified foods, and some convenience products with minimal ingredients. These can support your lifestyle when used intentionally, but they should not replace whole foods and they should not be the bulk of your diet. And then the third tier are going to be the foods that you really want to prioritize. These are going to be your whole or minimally processed foods, foods that are structurally intact and naturally nutrient dense. This is where the foundation of your diet should be living. So instead of thinking in extremes, most of your diet should be in that third tier, some support from tier two, and then minimal exposure to those tier one products. That is a much more useful framework than trying to create perfect dietary purity. Now, if you're someone who follows a low-carb keto or paleo approach, this becomes even more important because many products in these categories are highly engineered. You can absolutely be low carb and still heavily ultra-processed. For example, the carbon knot bagels that I talked about. You can be keto and still eat foods full of modified fibers, emulsifiers, sweetener systems, texture systems, artificial flavoring, and highly manipulated ingredients. So how do you know if what you're actually eating supports satiety and stability? Well, here's what to look for. First, does this meal or food actually keep you full for several hours? Or are you thinking about food again 60 to 90 minutes later? True satiety comes from protein, healthy fats, and intact food structure. Then you want to look at food stability. Are you experiencing energy crashes, cravings, irritability, that feeling of always needing another snack, and or feeling stimulated by the food rather than nourished by it? These are all signs that even if something is, for example, low carb, it may still be metabolically disruptive. And then again, third, that ingredient simplicity. Can you recognize and understand the ingredients? Or does it read like a formulation of a bunch of words that you don't know how to pronounce or even understand? Because the more engineered the product, the more likely it is to disrupt natural hunger and signaling pathways. And I want to sharpen one more point here because this is something most people do not fully understand. When we talk about satiety and stability, we're talking about your body's ability to regulate hunger, energy, and signaling without constant input. So a truly supportive meal should keep you full for several hours, provide stable energy, reduce, not increase, cravings, and leave you feeling grounded rather than stimulated. So a simple way to assess your food is this: after eating, do you feel grounded and stable? Or do you feel stimulated and wanting more? Because that answer will tell you more than almost any label ever will. And this is especially important in the low-carb keto and paleo worlds because some of the worst offenders can hide beneath health language. So again, you do not want low carb, you want low manipulation. And this also applies when you're eating out. You do not need perfection, but you do need awareness. So look for simply prepared proteins, vegetables that are not heavily sauced, minimal ingredient dishes, and foods that still look like what they were originally. And ask questions like how is this cooked? What oils are being used? Are there added sauces or coatings? Is this breaded, glazed, or heavily seasoned with packaged sauces? And when in doubt, choose foods that look like what they originally were. Things like grilled fish, steak, eggs, chicken, grilled chicken, not breaded chicken, vegetables, potatoes, rice, simple salads with olive oil and vinegar, not foods that look like they've been reassembled into a food like product. Because at the end of the day, The closer you stay to real food, the less you have to overthink anything else. Now let's translate all this into something you can actually use in daily life. If you were building a panacea aligned grocery cart, it would probably look something like this. Your proteins would be grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish, eggs, simple plain Greek yogurt, and minimally processed protein sources. Your fats would include olive oils, avocados, nuts and seeds, butter or ghee if you can tolerate those. And then your carbohydrates are going to look more like fresh vegetables and fruits, root vegetables, beans if you can tolerate them and they work for you, and intact grains if those work for you. And then some strategic add-ins would be layered in with things like clean protein powder, a high quality yogurt, a minimal ingredient, not milk, maybe a product like Cocoa June, but again, you don't want that to be your standby. And then some fortified support foods depending on your needs. But the difference is this these are supporting the foundation. They're not replacing it. Because once ultra-processed foods become the majority of your intake, even the healthier ones, you start to lose the structural and metabolic benefits of the real food. And that's where we start to see issues showing up. So if you take nothing else from today and from this series on processed and ultra-processed foods, take this. It's not about eliminating all processed foods, it's about reducing your reliance on ultra-processed foods. A simple framework might look like this: prioritize whole minimally processed foods, use processed foods strategically, be cautious with foods designed to be addictive. Pay attention to satiety, energy, and cravings. Look at ingredient simplicity, structure, and intent, and build your lifestyle around real food and use convenience products as support, not as the foundation. And most importantly, start asking better questions. Not asking, is this healthy? But what was done to this food and why? Because once you understand that, you stop being influenced by marketing labels and trends and you start making decisions from awareness. And that's where real health starts to become possible. This is again not about eating perfectly. It's about understanding what you're eating and why it behaves the way it does in your body. And at the end of the day, this is not about labeling foods as good or bad. It's about understanding how they interact with your biology. Because once you understand that, you stop outsourcing your decisions to marketing trends and labels and you start making choices based on how your body actually functions and feels. And that's where you gain real control and that's where real health begins. And remember, your external glow will only ever reflect your internal environment. So choose accordingly. Okay, that's a wrap for today's episode. As always, thank you so much for joining me on Serenity and Fire. If today's episode inspired you, the best way to support the show is to follow, leave a review, or share it with someone who might need to hear this message. Until next time, keep balancing serenity with fire. I'm Krista Gujeni, and I'll talk with you more in our next episode. At Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique, we don't just offer traditional spa treatments. We create rituals that relax your mind, restore your health, and rejuvenate your spirit. From biohacking technologies to advanced oncology trained care, everything we do is designed to help you heal on the deepest level with clean, holistic therapies, products, and amenities that are second to none. And right now you can experience two of my favorites, our whole body LED lightbed or hyperbaric oxygen therapies. And as a thank you for listening, you'll get 10% off your first session when you use the code Serenity10 at booking. What is your panacea? Let us help you find it because true wellness isn't a quick fix, it's a ritual.