Ultra-Processed People: Intro and Chapter 1

Welcome to the first installment of my chapter-by-chapter review of a book I read: “Ultra-Processed People”.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a high school book report so bear with me as I do my best to recap the information and properly cite the sources.

Disclaimer: This series is a review and summary of Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken. Unless otherwise noted, all research discussed comes from the author's presentation of the evidence. I have not independently reviewed the original scientific studies referenced in the book. My commentary reflects my interpretation of the book and should not be taken as an independent evaluation of the underlying research.

If you have questions or want to further the discussion, reach out to me on Instagram or email me at lnelson@hammerheadwellness.com. Thank you for reading and bettering yourself through nutrition.

My journey into nutrition coaching and consulting as a career has brought me through many different paths and there is information overload out there on the topic. However, one place that coaches, nutritionists, dietitians, and medical professionals GENERALLY agree on, it’s that one should try to consume a balanced diet of minimally processed, whole foods.

Introduction -

“Ultra-Processed People” by Chris Van Tulleken is a drilling into what is called “Ultra-Processed Food” which will, from this point on, be referred to as “UPF”. UPF is often described as highly addictive, nutrient-bled substances that make up a significant amount of our diets.

UPF has a long definition, but “if it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, it’s UPF”.

The author, Chris, takes on this journey himself. For one month, he eats a diet of 80% UPF. Why 80%? Well, that’s the typical ratio of UPF to non-UPF seen in the diets of a majority of adults and children in the United States and the United Kingdom. UPF came on significantly beginning in the 1950’s, evolving to become the majority of what we eat today.

UPF can be viewed as a byproduct of the industrial food production system, aligning its benefits with the flow of money. The companies at the top compete for market share and the innovation of food ingredients allows them to obtain what they’re after. The engineered foods have been “evolved to subvert the systems in the body that regulate weight and many other functions”. This means these foods are purchased in larger quantities and survive better in the market.

“Ultra-processing” includes what we typically think of when it comes to altering food: frying, mechanically recovering, etc., but it also includes deceptive marketing, secret lobbying, fraudulent research, and bogus court cases.

Much of what the book talks about is UPF’s effect on weight and obesity. What’s important to note is that UPF isn’t detrimental to health just because it causes obesity. As the book will elaborate on, even if you are not obese and your diet is high in UPF, the risks are still there. Chris advocates for a rebrand of the blame behind obesity, since the environment and the new food ecosystem is engineered to drive consumption. He argues that “we’re a lot less responsible for our weight than a skier breaking their leg”. He also references a study covering children in the USA and the UK, where UPF consumption rates are highest, where children are not only heavier, but they’re shorter than children in other high-income western countries. Is it a disorder of excess due to UPF? Or is it a form of malnutrition?

Let’s dive in.

Chapter 1 - “Why is there bacterial slime in my ice cream? The invention of UPF”

Chris starts out setting the scene with him and his family on a hot autumn day where his daughter has ice cream that is curiously still “ball-shaped” despite the heat. The container was warm, but the ice cream hadn’t melted. Chris looked at the ingredients online and found a plethora of the following: stabilizers, emulsifiers, gums, lecithin, glucose, different oils, etc. This is typical in ice cream you will find in any store. Why are all of these necessary? Chris asks, “wouldn’t it be cheaper to use less ingredients?”

Chris decided to meet with a food industry insider and biochemist, Paul Hart. Paul brings Chris a yogurt with a label containing the words “prebiotics, probiotics, and omega-3s”. Paul’s explanation of this labeling is that the company is “luring the customer in on the basis that some defect in their diet is going to be fixed by swallowing a yogurt full of additives”.

Think about the marketing on all the products we buy from the grocery store (particularly our “10g of protein!” labeled foods).

Back to Chris and Paul’s conversation. Chris asks Paul to explain the ingredients in the ice cream from before. Paul says that all of those ingredients save money for the company. Isn’t that good for the consumer? “In 2017, British consumers spent just 8% of their household budget on food, lower than almost anywhere else in the USA…and households in low-income countries spend 60% or more of their household budget on food.” So, cheaper ingredients equal cheaper manufacturing costs, which then translate to cheaper food on the shelf.

We all want to save money. Individuals, households, corporations, we’re all the same in that way, right?

“UPF is almost universally cheaper, quicker and supposedly just as nutritious…the combination of low wages, loss of time and the promise of something delicious all probably contribute to the high levels of UPF in our diets…perhaps it’s no surprise that UPF is eaten in greater quantities in countries like the UK and USA that are more economically unequal than similar high-income countries.” Chris explains.

So why emulsifiers and gums in the ice cream? How does this make it cheaper? Paul Hart explains that these ingredients make the ice cream more tolerant of warmth, making the process of moving the ice cream around easier. There are temperature variations to take into effect when the ice cream goes from factory to truck to supermarket to home. The additives prevent ice crystals from forming in the ice cream, allowing customers to have the “creamy” mouth feel that we all enjoy. Paul explains that there is a different brand of ice cream in the UK that isn’t sold nationally because of the “home” ingredients it’s made from, like milk, cream, sugar, skimmed milk powder, egg yolk, vanilla essence, etc. This ice cream is less tolerant of the temperature variations that need to be endured if the product is to be transported across the country. This brand is also much more expensive, nearly 14 times the cost of a commercial brand full of UPF.

Paul explains that the engineered ingredients are “simply mimicking real and expensive ingredients like milk, cream, and eggs.” This is the main point of UPF, the molecular replacement to recreate how food gets its taste, texture and calories, from fats, proteins, and carbs.

Paul and Chris go through a lengthy explanation of the history of starches and the journey to modify them. Ultimately, the key point is that “modified starches can replace fats and dairy, hold water during freezing and bulk out any sauce.” Modified starches can be used in many different ways, such as using it as a pie filling due to improved stability through the addition of phosphoric acid, thinning it with acid for textiles and laundry, or treating it with propylene oxide to get the texture of salad dressing.

Alongside modified starches, gums like guar gum, locust bean gum, alginate, carrageenan, and xanthan gum can give food a longer shelf life. Less product waste, better revenue. Better revenue, better profit.

These ingredients also help make foods that can be labeled as “low-fat or non-fat”. The point is that you may not get any health benefit at all from using a low or non-fat food option due to the substitutes being used.