Ultra-processed foods make up 60% of the calories Americans consume, leaving people nutritionally deficient and at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia — and the list goes on.

One reason so much of what Americans eat is stripped of nutrition and loaded with sugars, additives, and preservatives is that many grocery stores don't offer healthy alternatives when it comes to packaged and prepared foods. (There are always fresh vegetables, lean proteins, fatty fish, and 100% whole grains to choose from, but they aren't stacked up aisle after aisle on the shelves.)

Researchers at Mass General Brigham decided to help consumers by analyzing ingredient lists and nutrition facts of foods available at Target, Whole Foods, and Walmart. They then created a database called GroceryDB, with more than 50,000 food items.

That information is now available on the TrueFood website (www.truefood.tech). If you go there, you can compare foods to see what those chains offer that’s nutritious, and what's not.

You'll discover, for example, that cereals at Whole Foods range from minimally to ultra-processed, but 100% of cereals sold at Walmart and Target are highly processed.

Why does this matter? Because highly processed foods not only fuel many chronic diseases by starving your body of nutrients, they also dim your brain power and affect your mood.

Make a commitment to dump super-processed foods and check out the recipes in "The What to Eat When Cookbook."

And if you do pick up packaged and prepared foods, read the ingredients label. Weird words there? Don't buy that food.