I listened to this podcast from the Zoe team who were interviewing Dr Chris Van Tulleken (you know…one of the doctor twins on TV) and professor Tim Spector that I found particularly enlightening. It’s on ultra-processed foods. I think why I particularly loved it was that it explained why people feel so good when they do my 21 Day Reset. AND why people lose weight when they feel like they are eating more on my 21 Day Reset. It’s partly because we remove all processed foods.
I’ve been wondering about what the definition of Ultra-Processed is for a long time. In my head, I thought it was going to be obvious which foods are ultra processed, but actually it is sooooooo many more foods than I first thought. Have a listen to this podcast, but just in case you don’t have time, here are the key take-aways that I took from it:
Ultra-processed food definition
If it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, then it is ultra-processed.
In other words, ultra-processed ultimately means ‘industrialised edible stuff’
What is the issue with ultra processed-foods?
That the one (or more) ingredient that has been added to the food that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, has been added to increase profits and not to increase nourishment.
We are told by the chemical manufacturers that these chemicals are inert. But actually, they are likely to have long term effects, but we just haven’t studied them yet.
The chemicals added to the food are specifically designed to increase addiction (to make you want to buy more) and to cut costs so that the food producer can make more money. Ultimately, there are no mass food producers out there that do it for the love of providing nutrients to their customers. They all need to make money to make it worth them being in business, so chemicals are added to reach this goal.
The Stats
- Shockingly 56% of UK calories consumed are ultra-processed.
- That rises to over 60% in the U.S.
- And children eat 10% more ultra-processed food than these figures for adults.
How to look for clues of ultra-processed
If there is a health claim on the packet the it is almost certainly-ultra processed: low fat, high protein, low sugar, high fibre etc
What sort of products are we talking about?
Nearly all supermarket breads, all cereals, some packets, flavoured yoghurts (and even a few unflavoured), ready meals etc. Loads of things that you think of as healthy are actually ultra-processed. And there is a massive difference between brands. It is important to read the ingredients labels on all your food always thinking about the definition of ultra-processed foods.
What is the effect of ultra-processing on the body
Nobody really knows at the moment. But there was a study that took two groups. They gave both groups the same meal with the same calories and macro-nutrients. But after the meal, those that ate the ultra-processed version were more likely to go up for seconds.
This gives a strong argument that the obesity epidemic has a lot to do with ultra-processed foods. So, from our perspective, if you are trying to lose weight, it would be best to avoid them. Making a lasagne at home will have a significantly different effect to your physiology than a lasagne bought from a shop, even if 99% of the ingredients are the same.
Another study they discussed found that for people who have food addictions, ultra-processed foods can be as addictive as cigarettes, drugs and alcohol. [And when I heard this myself, I realised this is very true for me. Once I start I can’t stop!]
A one-man study
Dr. Chris was intrigued about ultra-processed foods when his twin brother Dr. Xand went and lived in the U.S. Just by moving there, he put on a significant amount of weight. So, Dr. Chris did a trial on himself. For 30 days he ate 80% ultra-processed foods carefully monitored by scientists at UCL. FYI 80% ultra-processed is a typical diet for teenagers.
The results
He put on loads of weight – so much weight, that if he had continued for a whole year he would have doubled his body weight.
Another change they found was in his hormonal response to food. Hormones play a massive part in regulating appetite and body weight. His hormones were no longer signalling when he was full and they were telling him he was still hungry. Therefore, he ate more and put on weight.
And when they did an MRI of his brain it showed significant changes. The brain was actually re-wiring to have more of the reward/addiction part of brain activated.
So, if these changes are made in a man who only ate this way for a month, what is it doing to children who from birth eat for years in this way???
In Summary
Ultra-processing makes your food less nutritious, is addictive and encourages you to eat more of it and is quite probably a big part of our obesity epidemic.
