The harsh reality of ultra processed food - with Chris Van Tulleken

There's no Q&A for this one - but if you liked this lecture, you might enjoy Giles Yeo's talk on the science of weight loss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQJ0Z0DRumg

My dad, who had an aggressive cancer, when he was going through chemo was told by the oncology department to eat only ultra processed foods so he could digest it. My dad ignored it and just kept eating like always, whole foods from scratch. He was the healthiest looking guy in the treatment center and lived for an additional 10 years.

I was pleasantly surprised that this is more than just a rant about not eating (ultra) processed food. It's also a summary of paradigm shifting developments in nutritional research. Will share with my family.

I have just finished Tulleken's book. it is at first captivating with his scientific explanations of many food experiences in my life but became rather depressing by the end. i am 70 yrs old now. just 3 days ago i had confirmation of his assertion that UPF is addictive. I bought an "alleged" strudel from the store, went home and ate my usual lunch: a big daily salad, albacore tuna in olive oil sandwich, some yogurt, a banana with a slice of stinky french gruyere. i am now full. but as i brought my dishes to the sink i saw the strudel. i don't need to eat. i actually feel full but i couldn't resist the strudel. i can't remember the last time i had a piece. so i cut one small slice. i remember besides being sweet as expected, there was no texture. everything just crumbles away. i didn't have to chew, it just melt away. but it left me unsatisfied. i cut a bigger piece and it disappeared just as fast. 52 yrs ago when i first came to Oregon for my college studies i remember eating strudel bought from the supermarket as well. my memory tells me i had to chew, not hard of course, but i just couldn't hold it in my mouth and wait for it to melt away like it does now. so this stuff feels very addictive and is addictive. right away the whole sheebang goes in the trash in its aluminum container. oh just like Tulleken said in his book, when i looked up the ingredients lists it has more than 40-50 ingredients listed on it. why ? why not just flour, oil or butter, egg and fruits (apple or rasberry or whatever). i would even take some preservatives. but not 50 ingredients. no way.

After being diagnosed with a gallstone 18 months ago, I completely changed my diet. Lost 5 stone in weight eating proper, clean food, including fats. I haven’t had an attack in over 12 months( I didn’t have surgery ) and feel better than I have in 30 years ! ( 5 stone in weight UK =70lbs= 32kg )

Thank you so much for this. My wife Shivaun would have loved to watch it, and would have completely agreed. She passed away two weeks ago, so I'm sharing with her friends instead. Keep up the fight and public disclosure!

I particularly liked how he kept using his daughter as reference/example, proving that, no matter what, we are all just human and all susceptible to an almost insurmountable reality. The best we can do is be informed and do what’s in our own best interest if we can - not always easy or even achievable considering the complexity of 21st century life. I read some comments about his book on Amazon and concurred with one reader who observed “if you’re 20, this is an excellent book to read and to live by and if you’re 70 it’s probably too late but good info to share with younger friends & family” (or words to that effect). It is, I fear, too late for me in general but this info will make me more cognizant of trying to keep UPF out of my diet going forward. Dr. van Tulleken is a gifted lecturer - I have the attention span of a gnat but stayed interested (and wide awake, lol) for the entire hour!

56 and cooked from scratch since 12. My mothers cooking was atrocious. Today I am extremely healthy and fit compared to my age group and walk 10-18km per day. Cooking from scratch makes economical sense too.

I work for McDonald’s, the bun for your burger, just the bun, has over 20 ingredients. Homemade bread has about 5, 5 ingredients you more than likely have in your kitchen right now, half of the 20 in fast food buns, you probably have never heard of. 😬

4 months ago I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. My HbA1c (blood glucose) was 73 mmol/mol. Since then I have moved to a mainly wholefoods diet with little processed food and no UPF. I eat many organic things where possible. I eat strictly pumpernickel for bread, no refined carbs, no potatoes, ZERO added sugar and control carb portions to around 50g per meal. I enjoy cheese, fatty natural yoghurt, whole milk and snack on nuts, which keeps my fat intake at a good level. Kimchi, sauerkraut and yoghurt help my microbiome. I have also done a morning workout (exercise bike and weights) 4-5 times a week and have taken 500mg of Metformin twice a day. In 4 months I have lost 17.5Kg/2St 10lbs/38.5lbs and my blood test results today show a HbA1c of 36mmol/mol, which is amazing!

After thirty years I suddenly stopped smoking because I discovered my brother had given up. If he can, so can I. I gave up on the spot and never had another.

This is surely one of the most important videos on the internet right now! As a chef of 25+ years and owner of a BMI of around 40, awaiting surgery, and father to a 6y/o boy, this resonates so strongly. This message and all further research must be protected and the truth be heard by all. We must also ensure that Chris VT doesn’t mysteriously disappear!

I live in the UK for my whole adult life. But I grown up in estern Europe in 80s and 90s. We simply have no money for ultra processed food or it even was unavailable in my country. We could have coca cola twice a year. Nestle cereals were sooo expensive. There were no ready meals at all. But we had own veggies and eggs, real milk and meat. Bread from local shop was amazing. And my mum cooked. When I was older I was one time in mcdonalds only because it was something new in my country 😅. Now I am a mother of british children and try to feed kids similar way I was fed. I cook at home from simple ingredients, I bake my own bread. I make simple cakes at home instead of ultra processed sweets. We do not drink fizzy drinks at all. In the results my children are healthy and they even do not like ultra processed food. They do not claim that we don't go to mac. They even didn't eat their easter chocolate given by freinds this easter. They love homemade food. And they love cooking with me or themself. This is the easiest and most pleasure way to keep heathy and in proper weight. I wish everybody in the UK understand it and want to learn for better future. Don't be like US. Sorry for my english, still learning 😅

I am 78 I live on a fixed budget 2 years ago I stopped eating processed food now I only eat the food I make and cook I make in batches and freeze I make my own yoghurt using a heritage culture probiotic I add raw oats to add in the prebiotics I make my own lemon curd to flavour my yoghurt. I grow my own vegetable I batch cook my meals so I always have a meal at hand in the freezer I know I need to have the fridge and the freezer the kitchen etc but because I cook in bulk my fuel costs are lower I have no waste it takes it doesn't take much longer to cook 6 L of chicken and vegetable miso soup than 1or 2 portions. It can be done you may need to reorganise your days but it is well worth the effort

When I was young and my mum always cooked, I was so skinny that my parents were actually worried about it. I didn't exercise very much at all compared with other kids and actually spent huge amounts of time reading, something I've always done sitting down. I was still very skinny at 18, but then I started adding 1 kilo a year every year until I was 40 years old. The only thing that really changed was the food I ate, with less cooking and more convenience as years passed. My weight gain over that 22 year period was almost 40 percent.

An important point to bear in mind is that ultraprocessed food is an acquired taste. If you have ever known the taste of real food it is fairly obvious how bland and soul-less most ultraprocessed food really tastes like, and how their creators attempt to cover that fact with cheap tricks that quickly overwhelm the palate.

This is why I have started to make my own foods. I may use some store-bought stuff, but for the most part, I stick with foods that are prepared from-scratch. It may take longer, but its healthier, and seems to be tastier. Plus, I get more for the money's worth.

Love it, you just keep going until people listen; you are doing a fantastic job; don't let anyone stop you, we are fed up of being conned and fed up of the poverty stricken being denied of decent accessible reasonably priced fruit and veg. I am 66, reasonably well educated and have only just learned what is REAL food and once you eat REAL food you don't want any other (even home made soup is just delicious, nutritious, easy to make and freezable in bulk)

Since hearing from this guy months ago I've changed my diet quite drastically. I don't think it's possible to cut these ingredients out entirely in most places now, but I've gone some way to trying to pick the right products. We don't buy ready meals anymore, we buy plain veg, meat etc and cook it ourselves with off the shelf spices and in return we tend not to worry about how much salt, sugar etc we add (within reason) because it's still going to be far better. We make our own pizzas and for the stuff that's still ultra processed, I'm checking the ingredients regularly. If they've got a very long list I put it straight back and go for the one that's slightly better. Noticed how much tastier these foods without the extra stuff are though. Have to pay £2.50 for a small loaf but the bread I pick now without any of these additives tastes so much better, even after freezing and defrosting it and spread with actual butter rather than the fake stuff as well. The switch is definitely expensive though, and it's taking time to make a pizza from scratch or make chips - but I'm at least starting to enjoy cooking now.

Since COVID happened I've been fortunate enough to be able to work from home most days and this has allowed me to prepare my own food. I wouldn't say it affected my weight at all, but it does feel more satisfying than ready-meals and prefilled sandwiches. I definitely snack a lot less than before. There is no way I could have done this without gaining time back from commutes and being at home during lunch breaks, though.