Even though many studies have been done to determine what foods help our health and which ones could exacerbate or increase the likelihood of certain conditions like cancer, none of them could conclude that for certain. There is always a sense of uncertainty, especially when it comes to food-related research. However, new research has found molecules that can help researchers accurately track this intake, helping them give results with surety. Researchers have discovered that certain molecules in our blood and urine can show how much energy a person gets from ultraprocessed foods (UPF). This is a huge step because these foods, which are everywhere, make up almost 60% of what Americans eat. Understanding their impact is super important for our health. Biological Footprints of UPF Consumption In a first of its kind study, published in the PLOS Medicine journal, researchers have pinpointed biological markers, molecules present in our blood and urine, that can reveal how much unhealthy and processed foods we are consuming, whether it is high or low levels of consumption. One thing you must remember is that these foods are not made at home or with fresh products, these are products that come from factories. These foods range from sugary cereals and sodas to chips and frozen pizzas. These products are industrially produced with ingredients like additives, colors, and preservatives not typically found in home kitchens. Dietary Research And Its Shortcomings It is difficult to track how certain foods affect us by tracking what we eat. Usually, researchers ask people to remember everything they ate over a certain period. However, these verbal accounts cannot be used for certain, as there will be some disparities regarding what you eat and what you tell. People often forget things or don't report them accurately. This makes it hard to get reliable information. To overcome this, researchers came up with a new research model that can track food intake through the molecules we carry in our blood and urine. Developing Biomarker Scores To create this new, more objective way of tracking food intake, researchers looked at information from a past study involving over 1,000 older adults. A big group of them (more than 700) had given blood and urine samples, and they also kept detailed food diaries for a year. The scientists then found hundreds of metabolites. These are like little leftover bits that our bodies produce when we digest food and perform other daily functions. They discovered that many of these metabolites were linked to how much energy a person got from ultraprocessed foods. From these, they put together a "score" using 28 markers found in blood and up to 33 markers found in urine. These scores were really good at predicting how much ultraprocessed food someone was eating in their regular diet. The researchers explained that they found a "signature" – a clear pattern of these markers – that showed a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, not just specific food items. Interestingly, a few of these markers, like certain amino acids (building blocks of protein) and a type of sugar, showed up very consistently. One marker even suggested a possible connection between a diet high in ultraprocessed foods and developing type 2 diabetes. How Did They Confirm Their Findings? To make sure their new scoring system actually worked, the team tested it on data from another study that was very carefully controlled. In that study, 20 adults actually lived at an NIH center for a month. For two weeks, they ate only ultraprocessed foods, and for the other two weeks, they ate only unprocessed foods. The researchers made sure both diets had the same amounts of calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and other nutrients, and people could eat as much as they wanted. The researchers found that their new metabolite scores could accurately tell when a person was eating a lot of ultraprocessed foods and when they weren't. This showed that the markers were reliable for individual people. Experts believe that these marker "signatures" can help us understand how ultraprocessed foods harm our bodies and even if different types of ultraprocessed foods or processing methods have different effects. The future aspects of this research are huge as many scientists believe they could use it to track how eating ultraprocessed foods affects the risk of getting cancer.