# Ultra-processed food, sugar, juice: what really counts

Ultra-processed sounds like a clear line, but the term is disputed. Something simpler has better evidence: sugar-sweetened drinks easily add up.[^12]

## What ultra-processed means

The NOVA classification sorts foods into four groups. Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations, often with ingredients rarely used at home, such as flavours, emulsifiers or sweeteners.[^1]

It is not easy to apply: French specialists sorting over 100 foods reached only low agreement.[^2] The DGE says that uniform criteria are missing and points out that packaged wholegrain bread or fruit yoghurt can fall under it too.[^3]

## What studies show

In a clinic study of 20 adults, participants ate 508 kcal more a day on an ultra-processed diet when they could eat freely. The study was small and short, and the food was more energy dense.[^4]

A British study of 55 people tested this in daily life for 8 weeks each. Both diets followed nutrition guidelines, weight fell on both, slightly more on minimally processed food, a difference of about 1 kg.[^5]

Observational studies see many links with disease, but the evidence is mostly weak.[^6] It also depends on what is meant: sugar-sweetened drinks and meat products stand out most, wholegrain bread or yoghurt rather not.[^7][^8]

Whether processing itself is the problem has not been settled. Many of these products are simply high in energy, salt or sugar.[^8] The S3 guideline therefore specifically advises limiting ultra-processed foods with high energy density.[^9]

## How much sugar?

The WHO advises keeping free sugars under 10% of energy and suggests under 5%. Free means added sugar plus sugar in honey, syrups and juice, not in whole fruit.[^10] German societies adopt the 10% as a maximum, which at 2,000 kcal is about 50 g a day.[^11]

EFSA could not set a safe upper limit and says added and free sugars should be as low as possible. When sugar replaces other nutrients at equal calories, studies show no harm for weight. So it is mainly about the energy.[^12]

## Drinks are easily overlooked

| Drink | Sugar per 100 ml | About per 200 ml glass |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cola | 9.5 g | 19 g[^13] |
| Lemonade | 7.8 g | 16 g[^13] |
| Energy drink | 10.4 g | 21 g[^13] |
| Fruit spritzer | 5.9 g | 12 g[^13] |

These are means from the German product monitoring 2024, single products differ.[^13] A 200 ml glass of apple juice has about 92 kcal, a glass of lemonade or cola about 85 kcal.[^14]

Drinks often fill you less than food. In a small study of 15 people, they made up for calories from sweets at meals, but not for calories from soda.[^15] This is no law, as a review of 253 tests found very mixed results.[^16] In studies of adults, weight went up by about 0.8 kg when sweetened drinks were added and down by about 0.5 kg when they were removed.[^17] The S3 guideline clearly advises limiting them.[^9]

## Juice and smoothies

The DGE sees juice as an extra on top of five portions of fruit and vegetables, two 200 ml glasses a week, or as a spritzer with three parts water. Smoothies are concentrated. Both give less fibre and fill you less than whole fruit.[^18]

In a trial of 58 adults, a whole apple before a meal lowered intake, apple juice less so.[^19] On weight, the data on juice are mixed: studies in adults showed no confirmed effect.[^20] So juice is no poison, it just counts.

## What you can do with this

- Start with drinks, where change is easiest. Water and unsweetened tea are the simplest choice. There is more on diet drinks under [Sweeteners and sugar alcohols](https://kostenlos-abnehmen.de/en/wissen/suessstoffe).
- Look less at the label “ultra-processed” and more at how often something very energy-rich is on the table.
- None of this has to go completely. Bans rarely last, see [Cravings](https://kostenlos-abnehmen.de/en/wissen/heisshunger).

## Sources

[^1]: [Monteiro CA et al.: Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr, 2019](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30744710/)
[^2]: [Braesco V et al.: Ultra-processed foods: how functional is the NOVA system? Eur J Clin Nutr, 2022](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35314769/)
[^3]: [German Nutrition Society (DGE): Ultra-processed foods, 2025](https://www.dge.de/presse/meldungen/2025/hochverarbeitete-lebensmittel-im-fokus-der-dge-arbeitstagung/)
[^4]: [Hall KD et al.: Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain. Cell Metab, 2019](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31105044/)
[^5]: [Dicken SJ et al.: Ultraprocessed or minimally processed diets following healthy dietary guidelines. Nat Med, 2025](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40760353/)
[^6]: [Lane MM et al.: Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes. BMJ, 2024](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38418082/)
[^7]: [Cordova R et al.: Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Lancet Reg Health Eur, 2023](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38115963/)
[^8]: [SACN: Processed foods and health, rapid evidence update, 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update-summary)
[^9]: [German Obesity Society (DAG): S3 guideline on obesity, AWMF 050-001, version 5.0, 2024](https://register.awmf.org/assets/guidelines/050-001l_S3_Praevention-Therapie-Adipositas_2024-10.pdf)
[^10]: [WHO: Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children, 2015](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028)
[^11]: [DAG, DDG, DGE: Recommendation on sugar intake in Germany, 2018](https://www.dge.de/fileadmin/dok/gesunde-ernaehrung/ernaehrungsempfehlung/10-regeln/Konsensuspapier_Zucker_DAG_DDG_DGE_2018.pdf)
[^12]: [EFSA: Tolerable upper intake level for dietary sugars. EFSA J, 2022](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35251356/)
[^13]: [Max Rubner Institute: Product monitoring 2024, 2025](https://www.mri.bund.de/fileadmin/MRI/Pressemitteilungen/PM20250701-Produktmonitoring-Stakeholder/PM_Ergebnisbericht_2024_bfrei.pdf)
[^14]: [German Federal Centre for Nutrition: Is fruit juice a good thirst quencher? 2023](https://www.bzfe.de/presse/pressemeldungen-archiv-2024-und-frueher/ist-fruchtsaft-ein-guter-durstloescher)
[^15]: [DiMeglio DP, Mattes RD: Liquid versus solid carbohydrate: effects on food intake and body weight. Int J Obes, 2000](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10878689/)
[^16]: [Almiron-Roig E et al.: Factors that determine energy compensation: a systematic review of preload studies. Nutr Rev, 2013](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23815144/)
[^17]: [Nguyen M et al.: Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain in children and adults. Am J Clin Nutr, 2023](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36789935/)
[^18]: [German Nutrition Society (DGE): Fruit and vegetables](https://www.dge.de/gesunde-ernaehrung/gut-essen-und-trinken/obst-und-gemuese/)
[^19]: [Flood-Obbagy JE et al.: The effect of fruit in different forms on energy intake and satiety at a meal. Appetite, 2009](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19110020/)
[^20]: [Nguyen M et al.: Consumption of 100% Fruit Juice and Body Weight in Children and Adults. JAMA Pediatr, 2024](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38227336/)

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Last updated: November 2026. This is general information and not medical advice.

Original article: https://kostenlos-abnehmen.de/en/wissen/verarbeitet-zucker-saft