Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ultra processed food corporations didn’t just use the tobacco industry playbook—they were the tobacco industry.
If you missed the previous videos in this series, check out:
• What Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (nutritionfacts.org/video/what-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• How Bad Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-bad-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• Which Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Worst in Driving the Association with Death and Disease? (nutritionfacts.org/video/which-ultra-processed-foods-are-the-worst-in-driving-the-association-with-death-and-disease)
• Do the Health Impacts of Ultra-Processed Foods Apply to Plant-Based Meat Alternatives? (nutritionfacts.org/video/do-the-health-impacts-of-ultra-processed-foods-apply-to-plant-based-meat-alternatives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Food Additives (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-food-additives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Industrial Contaminants (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-industrial-contaminants)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Packaging Chemicals (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-packaging-chemicals)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Loss of Phytonutrients (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-loss-of-phytonutrients)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Texture (nutritionfacts.org/video/how ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-texture)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Calorie Density (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-calorie-density)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Structure (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-structure)
Stay tuned for the rest of this extended video series on ultra-processed foods, coming out over the next several months.
If you don’t want to wait for each video to be released, we’ve compiled all the information into a new book, Ultra-Processed Foods: Concerns, Controversies, and Exceptions (nutritionfacts.org/book/ultra-processed/).
New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/.
Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-addictive-properties and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.
Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-addictive-properties. You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.
Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: nutritionfacts.org/translations-info
NutritionFacts.org
• Subscribe: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe
• Donate: nutritionfacts.org/donate
• Podcast : nutritionfacts.org/audio
• Books: nutritionfacts.org/books
• Shop: drgreger.org
• Facebook: facebook.com/NutritionFacts.org
• Twitter: twitter.com/nutrition_facts
• Instagram: instagram.com/nutrition_facts_org
Ultra processed food corporations didn’t just use the tobacco industry playbook—they were the tobacco industry.
If you missed the previous videos in this series, check out:
• What Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (nutritionfacts.org/video/what-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• How Bad Are Ultra-Processed Foods? (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-bad-are-ultra-processed-foods)
• Which Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Worst in Driving the Association with Death and Disease? (nutritionfacts.org/video/which-ultra-processed-foods-are-the-worst-in-driving-the-association-with-death-and-disease)
• Do the Health Impacts of Ultra-Processed Foods Apply to Plant-Based Meat Alternatives? (nutritionfacts.org/video/do-the-health-impacts-of-ultra-processed-foods-apply-to-plant-based-meat-alternatives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Food Additives (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-food-additives)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Industrial Contaminants (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-industrial-contaminants)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Packaging Chemicals (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-packaging-chemicals)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Loss of Phytonutrients (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-loss-of-phytonutrients)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Texture (nutritionfacts.org/video/how ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-texture)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Calorie Density (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-calorie-density)
• How Ultra-Processed Foods Could Cause Disease: Changes in Structure (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-changes-in-structure)
Stay tuned for the rest of this extended video series on ultra-processed foods, coming out over the next several months.
If you don’t want to wait for each video to be released, we’ve compiled all the information into a new book, Ultra-Processed Foods: Concerns, Controversies, and Exceptions (nutritionfacts.org/book/ultra-processed/).
New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/.
Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-addictive-properties and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.
Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at nutritionfacts.org/video/how-ultra-processed-foods-could-cause-disease-addictive-properties. You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.
Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: nutritionfacts.org/translations-info
NutritionFacts.org
• Subscribe: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe
• Donate: nutritionfacts.org/donate
• Podcast : nutritionfacts.org/audio
• Books: nutritionfacts.org/books
• Shop: drgreger.org
• Facebook: facebook.com/NutritionFacts.org
• Twitter: twitter.com/nutrition_facts
• Instagram: instagram.com/nutrition_facts_org
