[ianand]

This has been my mental model as well. I often use two analogies to describe this.

The processed a food is the more likely you’re eating a “Product”, i.e. something that’s been designed to consumed and enjoyed.

I don’t say that as a necessarily bad thing. We’ve making foods more enjoyable for the history of civilization (broccoli was bred by humans from a wild cabbage) but industrialization has given us an ability to create new things faster than our biology can adapt.

The other analogy is to think of UPF, especially nominally nutritious ones like protein bars, as the nutritional equivalent of power tools. They can be really powerful for dialing in your macros or taste desires. But must be used carefully and are potentially dangerous if untrained.