Ultra-processed US foods are ultra-bad for you. Here’s what to know

A growing number of grocery-store foods, from fruit-flavored yogurts to packaged bread, are being tied to health concerns

• What are those weird ingredients in our favorite packaged foods?

Shopping for yogurt, bread and granola bars might feel like a healthy decision. The dairy seems like a calcium-boosting choice for kids, the whole-grain bread looks better than the white bread, and granola bars appear so much better for you than chips or gummy bears - and in many ways, they are.

But a growing number of grocery-store foods - even ones that appear healthy - are what scientists today call ultra-processed": fruit-flavored yogurts packed full of sugars, flavorings and thickeners like guar and carob bean gum; or packaged bread, with ingredients like soy lecithin and monoglycerides slipped in alongside the flour and water.