We’re in a new age of eating, but how is ultra processed food harming our bodies – and the world?
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00:00 Why we need to talk about our diets
03:40 We’re part of an experiment we didn’t sign up for
10:05 What is ultra processed food?
12:50 What Donald Trump got right about UPF
14:20 What Diet Coke does to your health
17:53 How ultra processed food is made
23:55 Why does ultra processed food cause obesity?
29:05 Doesn’t exercise burn calories?
35:37 What about willpower and diet?
38:18 What role do stress and genes play?
39:45 How does ultra processed food harm us?
47:33 How UPF affects the planet
50:41 Ultra processed food is addictive
52:25 The food system is financialised
54:28 What are the solutions?
This lecture was filmed at the Ri on 19 September 2023 through the generous support of Digital Science.
The industrialisation and commercialisation of food have transformed our diets, whereby most of our calories now come from an entirely novel set of substances. Ultra Processed Food (UPF) now makes up 60% of the average diet in the UK and USA. It is highly processed, highly addictive, and largely unhealthy.
Join award-winning broadcaster, practising NHS doctor and leading academic Chris van Tulleken as he explores the invention of UPF and its impact on our health and weight – from altering metabolism and appetite to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and tooth decay.
Chris uncovers the limitations of relying solely on exercise and willpower to combat the health risks of high UPF diets. Drawing on his own experiment of eating an 80% UPF diet for one month he provides solutions for both individuals and policymakers to challenge this unregulated industry.
Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at UCLH and one of the UK’s leading science broadcasters. He has won two BAFTAs for his long-running CBBC series Operation Ouch, co-presented with his twin brother Xand, and hosted numerous programmes across the BBC. Following his BBC One documentary ‘What Are We Feeding Our Kids?’ and the chart-topping podcast ‘A Thorough Examination – Addicted to Food’, Chris has become the UK’s go-to expert on ultra-processed food.
Chris trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London, where he is now an Associate Professor. His research focuses on how corporations affect human health, especially in the context of nutrition.
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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
Actually, it has been my experience that children raised vegetarian (I say this because it is what I know) who ate veg at every meal, fruit (dried or fresh) for snacks and desserts and chocolate at Easter and Christmas, never over-ate. One child, a real gourmet, when presented with their favourite meal, would eat just enough of it to feel full. They would not finish what was on the plate once they had enough. So, this taught me that children fed real food will naturally eat what they need and no more than what they need. Children fed sweets and UPF's will not be able to feel what is enough. The same goes for adults, I expect, but it's more complicated because adults decide on meals, ingredients and go for what is available and affordable. I think the obesity problem is due first and foremost to what is available to many people and second to a lack of knowledge about food. Most people I know eat what they want. They see something that looks good and they eat it and if they really like it, they eat more of it. They don't pay attention to what it actually is because they trust the sources to provide supermarkets and shops with food that is actually food. When I have tried to explain that we avoid additives, most people react as if I'm one of these fad-followers on an extreme diet.
This is so interesting and so informative and he is right on and I know this from my own experience. He says an important thing when he said "the food system is financialized." And its really obvious when you look at the junk food made for children.
The real problem lays down the long path of successive years of economic and political decisions to force those that were not born into the asset class or those that have not been given direct knowledge or understanding and can afford to produce their own real food onto a complete diet of ultra processed foods and commercially produced pharmaceuticals that are laced with non beneficial compounds. At some point those that were not born with assets would potentially become a sub species of Homo sapiens which will likely get reclassified into some other genus. This will be a disaster for Homo sapiens as a whole as well as the whole planetary ecosystem.
I experienced a difficult time in life and made major life changes. One of them to turn to clean food (inverse UPF). I can only report benefits. And its easier to make as one might think: buy all the good stuff like broccoli, rice, carrots, potatoes, whatever … pour some water into a deep pan, fire it up on full power … unpack veggies and rice (or any other clean food) … chop them into small pieces … throw into the (now hottish) pan … put on the lid … turn down the heat at medium level … after 30 – 40 min its all cooked slowly … put it in a big bowl … throw in some goodies like cheese or whatever … enjoy. While cooking you could go for a run and a shower. 🙂 ……the problem with diet induced obesity is: we live a life that is dominated by time-shortage inducing stress. We spent a minimum of 10 hours per day for the work (transport, lunchbreak, nominal worktime). Who has the time and energy to get home and chop some potatoes at 6pm? Very few of us! Its so much more easier to quickly buy plastic wrapped UPF. Modern society is toxic. UPF industry saw a niche and filled it since 1975.
somehow I have always known that diet and low-fat foods are BS, you cant trick evolution.
What you say about weight loss is everything I've known was true, but have been told was false, especially around exercise and willpower. I went to the NHS weight loss clinic, and they didn't want to discuss anything except 'Calories in, Calories out'. They told me to "Go away, cut 500 calories a day, find an exercise you like and I guarantee you'll lose weight". Like I was stupid, like I'd never tried that before. Thank you for digging deeper.
The entire food chain s skewed ; w big companies n supermarkets ruling the market. And , food prices remain high. I'm writing this as a low -income single mother aged 42. Most of my friends have succumbed to chronic illnesses . Race ,class ,gender do play a part but don't explain everything. Don't want to sound smug but I changed my lifestyle & make an effort w food choices and activity levels every day; all on a low budget. I see that the system is unable to cope & in my area, maternal health s esp dire. Obesity & pregnancy complications are common. It s obv v complex but ppl need to be educated & try to make better choices. Also has to be recognised that women /mothers need time and space for themselves?! Most complain that they don't have energy to exercise +just want food on the table
Supermarket food makes my heartburn worse, I am fairly sure it is to do with stabiliser and emulsifier. Also, find some documentaries about everyday life in the sixties and fifties and note how slim everyone was!
How easily he gives away his own power and tells the rest of us we're all helpless. I can't understand how he can know how bad this stuff is and continue to feed it to his children, at least at home. I get there is a social aspect to food, but there is no social imperative for his toddler daughter to eat 4 bowls of sugary cereal in the privacy of his own home. I don't find it cute or funny, as he seems to. I find it to be an appalling abdication of parental responsibility
It's poisonous
@49:59 = well if you see humans as waste then coca cola is doing its best 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Tremendous lecture, really well organized, researched and evidenced and presented in easily accessible language. I think you need to address the low percentage of protein in UPF. Low protein is a contributing driver of overeating.
Can people reply to this comment with some random interesting facts from the video
Always makes me chuckle (in a bad way) when every September Macmillan Cancer does its huge coffee mornings fund raising drive and then I see all the pics on IG and X of tables groaning under the weight of cakes and mountains of 'beige food'. It would be acceptable perhaps if the other 300-odd days in the year everyone ate healthily and moved a lot but the sad reality is more than half the country is overweight or obese. Both UPFs and obesity are risk factors for many cancers — the very collection of diseases Macmillan are supposedly trying to fight.
OOh where's the Q&A? loved it
Teachings that should be compulsory to kid's education…! ❤
The only area in which willpower makes any impact is in the willingness to investigate this kind of research and willfully change your food environment. I'm not saying this to be facetious. There is personal responsibility, but where it is it's not obvious. Another level of personal responsibility for those who understand this research to find ways of sharing it convincingly with people who need to hear it.
From the interweb:
43:45
"Together, disodium guanylate and MSG enhance the flavor of food. In fact, humans respond to mixtures of MSG and nucleotides like GMP **eight times more strongly** than MSG alone (1Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
In other words, when MSG and disodium guanylate are combined, you’re likely to perceive food as much tastier (5Trusted Source)."
Changing my diet saved me from debilitating back pain, nerve pain, joint pain, muscle pain, digestive issues, raised blood pressure, 20kg over weight. It took around 8 months for all these problems to resolve. Since 2020 I've been completely pain free and never felt and looked healthier.
I'm only eating fatty meats, seafood, eggs and dairy.
Prior to that I was eating the mainstream version of a healthy diet (lots of veggies, fruit, whole grains, low fat, eating the rainbow etc) for decades and watching my health slowly decline.
I learnt lots watching videos by Dr Ken Berry, Dr Shawn Baker, Dr Gary Fettke, Dr Benjamin Bikman, Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, Dr Anthony Chaffee, Dr Paul Mason etc.
And these authors videos Diana Rodgers, Robb Wolf, Lierre Keith.
I read this peer-reviewed scientific article, that shows how 2,029 people had amazing results on the diet I'm on it's called "Behavioral Characteristics and Self-Reported Health Status among
2029 Adults Consuming a Carnivore diet".