How ultra-processed foods wreak havoc on your body

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Science, Health & Fitness, Education

4.6 • 5.6K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ultra-processed foods have become ubiquitous in modern diets. Many of us eat them regularly without understanding their potential impacts on our health. From hidden additives to addictive properties, these highly processed foods can pose risks. Navigating the complex world of ultra-processing can be challenging, and many people struggle to understand what to avoid, how to break unhealthy habits, and make positive changes to their health. In today’s episode, Jonathan is joined by a special guest, Dr. Chris van Tulleken, to explore the science behind ultra-processed food. Dr. Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at University College Hospital, in London, and one of the BBC’s leading science presenters. Chris shares the groundbreaking research from his own lived experiments, including the now famous study with his twin brother Xand. His book Ultra-Processed People is out now. Jonathan and Chris are joined by ZOE regular Tim Spector. Drawing from their combined expertise, our guests provide practical tips and advice, empowering listeners to make informed choices and take control of their diets. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes: 00:31 Introduction 02:14 Quick Fire Questions 05:25 Start of Chris's journey in nutrition 06:47 Discordant twins - How can twin studies help us? 08:51 What part do genetics play in our differences in health? 12:52 What were the potential consequences of weight gain? 15:20 What is ultra processed food (UPF)? 16:54 What's the difference between processed and ultra processed food? 18:52 Is ultra processing purely about profit? 21:13 Examples of ultra processed foods (UPF) 23:13 ZOE UPF survey - How much does the ZOE community eat? 25:28 Are the products that say they're healthy lying to us? 26:12 Are certain ingredients hidden by UPF? 27:44 Is low fat yoghurt that good for us? 30:39 Is UPF just junk food? 32:56 Kevin Hall’s UPF study 34:19 What makes UPF addictive? 36:34 Chris' ultra processed food experiment 39:12 Could food manufacturers make healthier UPF? 41:23 How do we solve the issue of UPF as a society? 45:26 Practical advice for cutting down on UPF 51:37 Summary 55:15 Goodbyes 55:27 Outro Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorChrisVT Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/ Episode transcripts are available here. Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to cover? Get in touch and we’ll do our best to cover it.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zuri, Science and Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
0:12.0	On a summer day in 2009, two young men walked into St Thomas's hospital in London.
0:19.0	They looked incredibly alike, these two young men.
0:22.0	Both were six feet tall, both weighed around 80 kg or 170 pounds.
0:29.0	Both were in fact genetically identical.
0:32.0	Twins participating in a groundbreaking study run by my friend and Zoe Co. founder Tim Specter.
0:40.0	Fast forward a decade.
0:42.0	If you'd seen these brothers standing side by side, you'd have been forgiven for thinking they were not related.
0:48.0	Why?
0:50.0	Because one twin, Zahnd, now weighed over 120 kg or 270 pounds.
0:58.0	While Chris's weight was essentially unchanged.
1:01.0	So what had happened?
1:03.0	During this time, Zahnd had gone to the US and switched to a diet of almost entirely ultra-process foods.
1:10.0	We used to think it was the calories that was the problem.
1:14.0	It's in fact only in the last three years that new researchers revealed that ultra-process foods may be directly responsible for causing obesity and severely damaging our health.
1:26.0	Today, one of those twins, Chris Van Tollken, is on a crusade to educate us on the realities of eating ultra-process food.
1:34.0	Chris is a medical doctor, broadcaster, and the author of a brand new book, Ultra-process People.
1:40.0	He joins me and Tim Specter to talk about it.
1:47.0	Chris and Tim, thank you very much for joining me today and lots of fun to be able to do this in person.
1:53.0	Great to be here.
1:55.0	It is nice to be here physically.
1:57.0	I haven't seen Tim when I was trying to work out when we first met.
	...

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