Ultra-processed food. You’ve probably heard of this. Damn, probably defeated There are many of these in your time – but you may still not know exactly what they are. Despite the abundance of ultra-processed food (UPF) in our lives (you’ll find it in most kitchens, supermarkets, and lunchboxes), awareness of ultra-processed foods and the associated risks is still relatively new, at least for seniors. the majority of us.
But low-UPF recipes and diets have been on the rise lately; This is partly thanks to best-selling books. Ultra Processed PeopleDr., an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. Written by Chris van Tulleken.
Under, Cosmopolitan United Kingdom He talks to Dr van Tulleken about all things UPF, the benefits of reducing intake and why cutting out UPF may be easier said than done (but that doesn’t mean you can’t try it if you want).
What is ultra-processed food?
Ultra-processed food refers to food that has been overly processed during its production, with the addition of ingredients you wouldn’t normally find in your cupboards if you’re trying to recreate the recipe at home (think emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial ingredients). flavors and the like).
Essentially, it’s the opposite of a whole food (think vegetables, fruits, eggs, nuts, or other foods left in their most natural state) and goes a step beyond processing a food by cooking or modifying it using ingredients that a home chef would use. ele.
“There’s a very long, formal definition, but this means that if something is wrapped in plastic and contains an ingredient you wouldn’t usually find in the home kitchen, then that thing is almost certainly an ultra-processed food,” explains Dr van. Tülleken.
Therefore, UPF often includes ice cream, sausages, chips, flavored yoghurt, and mass-produced bread, to name a few examples.
An easy way to identify UPF is to look for “any food with a health claim on the package, like low-fat, high-fiber, whole grain,” the expert says, adding that “anything like that is almost always ultra-processed.”
What are the risks associated with ultra-processed foods?
“We have very good evidence from thousands of independent studies linking ultra-processed foods to a wide range of harms, including cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack,” says Dr van Tulleken.
He says the most obvious risks associated with UPF are weight gain and obesity, but there are a number of additional problems you may be affected by whether you gain weight or not. “It causes strokes and heart attacks, metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, anxiety, depression, inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease, dementia, cancers (all cancers, but especially breast and bowel), as well as premature death from all causes.”
Its message reinforces something we already know: Your diet has a big impact on your life. Research shows that poor nutrition kills more people worldwide than tobacco, and when asked what this means, the author was very clear. “I think the evidence is very clear that by poor diet we mean an overly processed diet.”
Are all ultra-processed foods bad for us?
Naturally, your next question is probably: ‘Are all ultra-processed foods bad for us?’ According to Dr van Tulleken, this is definitely not the case; He himself notes that it’s not as simple as classifying foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
“If you were to live on a desert island for a year, it would be much better to survive on a pile of hamburgers rather than a pile of broccoli. You cannot survive on just broccoli for a year,” explains the expert. So when it comes to our diet, it would be better to examine our eating patterns. Dr van Tulleken continues: “What we think is really important is for people to eat a diet that is not based on ultra-processed foods.”
What does this mean? For many of us, most of our meals are UPF-centered. Think about your lunch, for example. “All our sandwiches are ultra-processed. Our chips and baked chips are all ultra-processed, and our fizzy pops, even the fancy stuff, are ultra-processed,” says Dr van Tulleken, who adds that we follow similar patterns in dinner. , more. Baked beans, baked chips, fish fingers, sausages, they are all ultra-processed, according to the pros.
If you’re a vegetarian, you can opt for a meat alternative, but many of these products also meet the definition of “ultra-processed.”
“These come from the same companies and the same production system that produce other ultra-processed foods, so they are not produced with your health in mind,” but with the aim of making more money, claims Dr van Tulleken.
But please don’t let this make you panic. Once again, “There are certainly ultra-processed products that are not harmful. The problem is diet,” says the doctor (around one in five people in the UK and US get 80% of the calories in their diet from food). UPF).
Is it cheap to cut out ultra-processed foods?
Your next question is ‘How easy is it to reduce my UPF intake?’ It is important to remember that many factors play a role and cost is one of them.
“It’s very easy to cook real food cheaply if you have a big kitchen, lots of Tupperware, a freezer, and lots of time to do it. But if you don’t, real food is incredibly expensive,” explains Dr. Van Tulleken.
“We spend on average seven to eight per cent of our household budget on food in the UK at the moment, and that’s because everything else in our lives is so expensive. So energy, housing, everything else. Real food is expensive for a lot of people in the UK at the moment.” “It’s unaffordable. Even if you don’t worry too much about processing, they can’t afford good, healthy food, however we define it.”
It is understandable, then, that Dr van Tulleken makes it clear that he does not aim to be didactic in his book, but instead aims to help share knowledge with readers.
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Should I reduce my intake of ultra-processed foods?
“I don’t have advice for anyone. I want people to eat whatever they want. I just want people to eat enough. information It’s about what food they buy,” said Dr van Tulleken, adding that he believes every individual has a choice.
(But he wants the government to take action, prevent UPF from being marketed to children, add warnings to foods, and fight poverty and inequality. “You can teach kids anything you want about food, but they can’t afford real food right now,” he comments.)
Dr van Tulleken, on the other hand, doesn’t eat a lot of UPF, but he takes a different approach with his children. “My kids eat quite a bit of this,” she says. “They probably get 20% to 30% of their calories from UPF,” he says, explaining that he especially wants them to be able to eat the same food as their friends at school.
Is ultra-processed food addictive?
To reiterate the above, no one is saying you have to give up ultra-processed foods. But if you’re interested in reducing your intake, you may find the following advice helpful.
“There’s now very good evidence that many of these products are addictive for many people, and so some people may find it easier to cut out overly processed foods altogether rather than trying to moderate. I don’t give this as advice, but some people find that of course they can avoid overly processed foods altogether.” avoidance is much more expensive,” notes Dr van Tulleken.
What are the benefits of reducing UPFs?
As part of his research, Dr van Tulleken deliberately adopted a high-UPF diet for a month to measure results. “At the end of the diet, I quit immediately and felt much better within 48 hours,” she says.
“If people stop it overnight, they might not feel a huge improvement right away, but a lot of people will actually feel a lot better pretty quickly. There are lots of symptoms, little symptoms, that we all experience in daily life where we wake up. Whether it’s feeling anxious at four in the morning, mild indigestion, bloating or “Things like being too windy are very strongly associated with overly processed foods.”
So there you are. All the basics you need to know about UPF. What you choose to do with the information is up to you, but please remember that a healthy, balanced diet is important to maintain your health and keep you feeling your best, according to NHS guidance. Advice on healthy eating is available on the NHS website.
This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.