You Are Part of an Experiment You Did Not Sign Up For
The reality of ultra-processed food
Ultra-processed food (UPF) is a term coined by the Brazilian nutrition and health research, Professor Carlos Monteiro and colleagues.
UPF are formulations of ingredients made possible by the use of many types of additives for flavor, color, and texture.
In other words, they are INDUSTRIALLY-MADE SUBSTANCES
So, in this virtual experiment, you are getting exposed to new combinations of molecules added to food
and ALL the benefits are going towards a small number Big Food conglomerates
How did this industrially-made substance come to light?
Imagine there are two formulations of cereal products (white and yellow)
This has a little extra emulsifier in it (emulsifier for ex. help you to mix fat and water)
Then, Big Food companies measure how quickly and how much people do consume the white cereal product vs the yellow product
So, if people consume more of product yellow, production will increase and be optimized to encourage even greater consumption!
This will eventually create a form of addiction.
These substances are designed to manipulate your taste buds into liking them.
A library of studies has already shown the impact of increased consumption of ultra-processed foods on our health, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health deterioration among others.
One area to highlight here is how components of ultra- processed foods impact our gut.
Non-nutritive sweeteners and emulsifiers found in ultra-processed foods that we consume almost daily from bread, and snacks to all the confectionery have significant effects on the friendly bugs in our bodies.
“Ta ذغ iya” by Sarah Zahr
We recruit around trillions of those friendly bugs in our guts. What are they for? One of their roles is to digest the fiber that we can’t breakdown on our own.
Ultra-processed foods can decrease the number of friendly bugs in our intestines and lead to inflammation.
This will require a post on its own to explore!
Ultra-processed food, the new Frankestein- like products
ULTRA-PROCESSED PEOPLE: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food, by Chris van Tulleken
Whelan, K., Bancil, A. S., Lindsay, J. O., & Chassaing, B. (2024). Ultra-processed foods and food additives in gut health and disease. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 1-22.
