How much ultraprocessed food are you eating?

CNN looked at nutrients and ingredients in popular chicken wraps and found concerning levels of salt and saturated fat — the kind that clogs arteries — and dozens of components. One wrap contained nearly 90 ingredients, over 30 of those in the chicken alone.

The pre-prepped chicken could include calcium disodium EDTA, which is used to treat lead poisoning and banned from drinks in the United Kingdom; carrageenan, which has been shown to create inflammation and digestive issues in animals; and dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone compound that reduces foaming.

In one restaurant, breading for the chicken contained yellow food dye No. 5, and may also contain yellow No. 6, red No. 3, red No. 40, blue No. 1 or blue No. 2. Red No. 40, yellow No. 5 and yellow No. 6 contain benzidene, a known carcinogen.

A common additive in tortillas was calcium propionate: Children who daily ate bread with this preservative experienced irritability, restlessness, poor attention and sleep issues, a 2002 clinical trial found. A 2019 study showed the additive may contribute to insulin resistance, a precursor of type 2 diabetes.

Dressings added to the entrée could include butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a synthetic chemical the European Food Safety Authority says is linked with cancer, liver tumors and more in animals and allergies in people. CNN also found titanium dioxide, which the EU agency says is no longer safe due to genotoxicity, or the ability to damage DNA.

What to do? Purchase a tortilla with the fewest ingredients by checking the Environmental Working Group’s food scores. Build your wrap at home from chicken you prepared and add fresh leafy greens and other veggies. Opt for olive oil, vinegar and spices as a dressing.

How could a Cobb salad be ultraprocessed — it’s a salad, right? But if you buy a grab-and-go version, the chicken may include the additive sodium phosphate, which can cause vascular damage, especially in people with kidney disease.

Chicken in Cobb salads may also contain dimethylpolysiloxane, which reduces foaming; and monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which the FDA says has been linked to “headache, numbness, flushing, tingling, palpitations and drowsiness” at higher doses.

Dressings provided with the salads had ingredients such as butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, an additive the European Food Safety Authority says is linked with cancer, liver tumors and more in animals and allergies in people. CNN also found titanium dioxide, an additive the EU agency says is no longer safe due to genotoxicity, or the ability to damage DNA.

But it’s the fat and sodium levels that are most concerning. Salt levels climbed as high as 1,625 milligrams without dressing — the American Heart Association suggests an ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams a day for most adults.

Levels of saturated fat — the kind that clogs arteries — ranged from 4.5 grams to 9 grams. The AHA guidelines recommend no more than 13 grams of saturated fat a day.

Dressings that came with the salads can add about 5 grams of saturated fat and contained scores of ingredients — one had about 30 in one small packet. In fact, the ingredient lists for Cobb salads CNN examined (including dressing) ranged from about 34 to 100 components.

What to do? Build your salad at home using fresh vegetables and dress your salad with extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar. Skip the bacon and instead of chicken consider tasty, inexpensive and protein-packed legumes such as chickpeas and black, kidney, pinto and white beans.

It’s likely no surprise many chicken nuggets and tenders aren’t good for you — after all, they are breaded and fried, which adds fat, salt and calories. However, eight pieces of one popular nugget contained 1.5 grams of trans fat, which has been banned in the United States and other countries, and 11 grams of saturated fat, the kind that clogs ateries. That brand also had more than 35 ingredients.

Additives in other chicken nuggets and strips include dimethylpolysiloxane, which reduces foaming, and monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which the FDA says has been linked to “headache, numbness, flushing, tingling, palpitations and drowsiness” at higher doses. Other additives include the pesticide sodium diacetate, which adds sourness and fights the growth of fungus and bacteria.

The nugget could also contain yellow food dye No. 5, yellow No. 6, red No. 3, red No. 40, blue No. 1 or blue No. 2. In the European Union, labels on any products containing dyes must say the colorings may affect activity and attention span in children. In addition, red No. 40, yellow No. 5 and yellow No. 6 contain benzidene, a known carcinogen.

What to do? Choose grilled chicken meat, which is better for you nutritionally. But unless you make it at home yourself, the two grilled options CNN found had up to 28 ingredients, and one had more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium. The American Heart Association suggests an ideal limit of 1,500 milligrams a day for most adults.

Ramen are noodles made with a lye water called kansui, a mixture of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate that makes the noodle elastic, chewy and yellow — without those properties, a noodle cannot be called ramen.

While those two additives aren’t concerning, some popular instant ramen on the market are preserved with tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, a petroleum-based chemical that makes the noodles hard to digest, allowing chemicals to linger in the digestive system.

Animal studies have found TBHQ may lower immune response to flu and Covid-19 vaccines, and may even alter DNA. The additive also may play various roles — pro and con — in the development of cancer.

Instant ramen served in broth is highly processed — there were about 60 ingredients in product lists CNN examined. In addition, the noodles offer little nutrition. They are low in fiber, minerals, protein and vitamins, and high in saturated fat — 6.6 grams per package. That’s more than one-third of the recommended daily amount.

Ramen seasoning is notoriously high in sodium, often over 1,000 milligrams per package. One brand CNN found had 1,870 milligrams, nearly the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams in just one meal.

What to do? Don’t make ramen a staple in your diet. When you do have a craving, visit the Environmental Working Group database and choose a product with the fewest additives and least amount of salt and saturated fat.

Congratulations! By choosing a plant-based burger, burrito or taco salad you are helping save the planet. Unfortunately, making plants taste like meat requires ultraprocessing — in fact, the heme that makes one alt-burger “bleed” is genetically modified. (Another brand uses beets for the effect.)

Manufacturers use coconut oil to make the faux meat “sizzle,” but about 85% of coconut oil is saturated fat — the kind that leads to clogged arteries. Critics have also pointed to plant-based patties’ extremely high sodium levels, which can be three to five times higher than burger meat.

Here’s the good news: There appear to be no concerning additives in these meat lookalikes. That’s great, right? It would be — if you ate the “meat” and threw away the bun, wrap or taco shell.

Certified dietician nutritionist Loraine Kearney explains how to taste the difference between ultraprocessed and minimally processed bread

The wrap or taco shell could contain sodium metabisulfite, a compound linked to allergic reactions in 3% to 10% of people with asthma, especially those who are on steroids and children with chronic asthma. The common additive calcium propionate was found: A 2019 study by Harvard researchers showed the additive may contribute to insulin resistance, a precursor of type 2 diabetes.

An emulsifier called lactic acid ester of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids, or E472b, could also be in the bun — it was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes in a recent study.

What to do? Make your own black bean burgers at home or use the product rankings at the Environmental Working Group to find store brands of alt-meat products with less sodium and manufactured buns with fewer additives.