Should we eat ultra-processed food?
6 Minute English
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What is your ultra-processed guilty pleasure? Many of us love home-cooked food, but when we're in a rush, it's often more convenient to eat snacks, or to buy quick, easy meals from the supermarket which we simply have to heat up. These are often ultra-processed forms of food, which recent studies have linked to poor health. Phil and Pippa discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.
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Transcript
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| 0:34.9 | Six-minute English. |
| 0:36.9 | From BBClearningEnglish.com. |
| 0:41.8 | Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. |
| 0:45.8 | I'm Phil. |
| 0:46.5 | And I'm Pippe. |
| 0:47.8 | If you've eaten anything today, then it's likely that some of your food was ultra-processed, food containing artificial ingredients like |
| 0:57.1 | additives and sweetness. Ultra-processed foods are everywhere, from sliced bread to chocolate |
| 1:03.1 | biscuits and crisps. They might taste good, but the bad news is that ultra-processed foods have been |
| 1:09.4 | linked to poor health. They often contain lots of sugarprocessed foods have been linked to poor health. They often contain |
| 1:12.3 | lots of sugar and salt and have been linked to problems like obesity and diabetes. So how can we |
| 1:18.9 | tell what food is ultra-processed and what's not? Here's health reporter Annabelle Rackham on |
| 1:24.6 | BBC World Service Programme, What in the World. |
| 1:27.3 | Ultra-processed foods are things that contain five or more ingredients. Anna Bell Rackham on BBC World Service Program, What in the World. |
| 1:31.9 | Ultra-processed foods are things that contain five or more ingredients and things that you wouldn't find in your average kitchen. |
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