Ultraprocessed foods documentary

[AndBreathe]

True, but he’s not a child or teen. I think that’s the concern - that children are being wired to seek UPFs. Some of the statistics were scary eg he said 2 out of 3 calories eaten by children/teens came from UPFs. That’s shocking.

As for adults, then I guess it’s about how much willpower, knowledge and motivation we have. There’s also the money aspect mentioned above, and the effect of social changes.

Inka - I think that's a very simple conclusion to reach; the willpower and motivation, but I would urge all of us not to lose sight of food addiction, and how common it is to one degree or another.

The presentation in the following link is from the Public Health Collaboration Conference in 2018. The audience were to the vast majority people who believe in wellbeing, and the pursuit thereof, but the little interactive exercise is staggeringly enlightening.

There is quite a bit of work being done into food addiction at the moment. Very few, if any of those involved report cases of individuals being addicted to steak, chicken or suchlike, but mainly to calorie dense, nutrient scant foodstuffs.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Yep - it was that ingredients comparison with what you might have in your own pantry, that struck home with me. Take something really simple like herbs - think we all know and accept that fresh herbs are seasonal so if you wish to make mint sauce, best start with freshly picked mint ...... but there again, much quicker and easier to pick up a jar of Colman's, isn't it?

Read the ingredients ..... not many of them in anyone's pantry ...... but there again how many tons/gallons of it a day will you consume when you'll only ever have a teaspoon of it every 3 weeks when you have a lamb chop?

So it isn't 'just' a matter of discarding things that have been processed (cos 1. pick mint leaves 2. wash them 3. chop them finely 4. sprinkle with half a teaspoonful of sugar 4. add vinegar and water to taste - so mint sauce is always processed!) but weighing up the pros and cons of it so you can choose properly between those that don't actually matter shedloads like the bit of mint sauce occasionally - and whether it's good for you to drink 2 litres of Coca Cola a day at the other end of the scale!

It's becoming blurrier though.

I have xanthan gum, lecithin, guar gum, arrowroot powder, among other things in my cupboards,
Baking, sauces, gravies, it all gets used quite regularly.
And even some of the dried herbs, and chilli blends have added, processed ingredients.
The bottles of liquid sauces all have.
Even the Lee and Perrins has "extracts"
There is a fair chance even the table salt has anti caking chemicals in.

 

[Robin]

Well, the programme wasn’t saying you shouldn’t eat any ultra processed foods, but to limit them.
I've got Lea and Perrins in my cupboard, but I only use a few drops once a week or so.
I had a look through my cupboards, and the worst culprit was Nature Valley Protein bars. Again, something I only eat about once a week, but I’m sure it’s something that people choose thinking ‘it’s healthy'.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Arrowroot was always in my mother's pantry, and I would guess in my grandmother's too. It's a good treatment for diarrhoea, and also for making a clear glaze for fruit tarts and flans.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I'd like to know if there is a "fat" gene.
Processed food isn't new.
Crispy pancakes, Birds Eye breaded fish triangles, Ross fish pies, Boil in the bag cod in parsley sauce, Mccain's oven chips, all food from my childhood.
But, in any family, we all had someone that could eat anything and not get fat. (That wasn't me).
So, why, if you and your brothers/sisters are eating the same foods, why does the result of that eating cause radically different results? I know I didn't eat more than my skinny brother did.
Maybe it's not the food, maybe it's not the calories, maybe it's not the carbs, maybe it's not the fat.
Maybe, the "fat" gene is getting switched on?
That's a study i would like to see the results of.

 

[Leadinglights]

I'd like to know if there is a "fat" gene.
Processed food isn't new.
Crispy pancakes, Birds Eye breaded fish triangles, Ross fish pies, Boil in the bag cod in parsley sauce, Mccain's oven chips, all food from my childhood.
But, in any family, we all had someone that could eat anything and not get fat. (That wasn't me).
So, why, if you and your brothers/sisters are eating the same foods, why does the result of that eating cause radically different results? I know I didn't eat more than my skinny brother did.
Maybe it's not the food, maybe it's not the calories, maybe it's not the carbs, maybe it's not the fat.
Maybe, the "fat" gene is getting switched on?
That's a study i would like to see the results of.

There is the FTO gene but It is thought that there are about 50 genes involved in whether somebody is fat or thin. Research has shown that it is 25% genetic and 75% environmental. So a very complex issue.

 

[Ditto]

I think there is a fat gene and also I think our gut stuff is key. I need to eat kimchi!

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I can't stick to anything! I have given the wrong impression. 🙂 I am yet again starting low carb, day 2 and on a roll. The thing with low carb is, it gives you a great nights' sleep, you feel happy, loads of energy, lose weight and clear skin, and best of all you don't feel hungry, so why the heck do I hanker for rubbish food? I have no idea. 🙂

Just read your response on the Newcastle diet thread.
I didn't want to hijack the other thread, while this one is still running, so I hope you don't mind me bringing your comment over here.
It got me thinking, I do like processed foods, but not because it has "processed" ingredients.
The list I made of processed foods from my childhood I wouldn't give freezer space to now.
On the other side of the coin, someone earlier said no one gets addicted to steak, equally, I wouldn't be addicted to boil in the bag cod in butter sauce.
But equally, I wouldn't be addicted to a MacDonald's burger patty.
Now, if you put the steak in a MacDonald's Big Mac......
I could do a burger in a bun at home.
But if I mince my own meat, bake my own bun, put my own lettuce, mayo, cheese, bbq sauce, and there is no processed food, it'll still taste 100 times better than just a dish of minced steak.
It's not the chemicals, it's the mix for me.
Maybe it's just the amount of money the food companies put into making the "perfect" food, and the amount of testing, and feedback, and re formulation it goes through now, to create the best experience. And to be honest, it's not all rubbish food. (Although some is)
Mostly it just makes you eat more, and goes down faster for me.
Try to re create the mix, but alter it, if you can do it enough, you should find a point where it satisfies the "memory" of the rubbish food, but doesn't create the over eating most of the time.

 

[Cobgirl]

We’ve got this recorded, looking forward to watching it. Something does need to be done globally with ultra processed foods. It’s worrying how easy it is to eat them without realising youre doing it

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Maybe it's just the amount of money the food companies put into making the "perfect" food, and the amount of testing, and feedback, and re formulation it goes through now, to create the best experience.

I think there’s a lot of truth in that - the programme described the food industry as repeatedly reformulating, tweaking, and focus-group-testing recipes to improve everything from flavour to how it feels in the mouth, how easy it is to swallow, and how long it keeps... looking for the ‘bliss point’ I mentioned in #56