Ultra-Processed Food and the Snickers Test

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s no secret that many of us lead hectic lives. Between work deadlines, family commitments, and endless to-do lists, finding time to prepare wholesome meals can feel like an impossible task. As a result, busy people often turn to ultra-processed foods (UPF) for convenience—think ready-to-eat snacks, frozen dinners, or quick grabs from the vending machine. While these options save time, they come with well-documented health risks, including links to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even mental health issues. Despite knowing this, the allure of UPF is hard to resist when you’re on the go. But what if we had a simple way to evaluate these foods? Enter the “Snickers test,” a straightforward mental shortcut to help us pause and reflect on what we’re really putting into our bodies.

Let’s take a closer look at the Snickers bar as our benchmark. Snickers is a classic mass-market candy bar, undeniably ultra-processed and loaded with sugar, fats, and additives. Yet, when you flip it over and read the ingredients list, it’s surprisingly straightforward: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, skim milk, lactose, salt, egg whites, and artificial flavor. That’s it—no endless parade of unpronounceable chemicals or obscure emulsifiers that dominate the labels of many other UPF items. Compare this to something like a typical frozen pizza or a boxed macaroni and cheese, which might list dozens of ingredients including high-fructose corn syrup variants, artificial colors, preservatives like BHT or TBHQ, and modified food starches. Even some “healthy” granola bars or energy drinks can have longer, more convoluted lists than Snickers. The point here is that despite being a quintessential junk food, Snickers maintains a relatively recognizable and limited set of components, making it a useful yardstick for spotting even more heavily engineered UPF masquerading as everyday eats.

So here’s the Snickers test in one easy question: Does this food feel even further from real, whole ingredients than a Snickers bar? If the answer is yes—maybe it has a longer ingredient list full of lab-made stuff or strange additives—pause and smile at the chance to choose better. Pick something closer to nature: a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or veggies with a little dip. Your body will thank you with more steady energy and real happiness. One small question, one big win for your health.