I recently read a book called Ultraprocessed People and I’ve been telling almost everyone I know about it ever since.
Ultraprocessed Food, or “UPF”, has been in the news for some time, and it may induce a yawn for you to hear more about it.
But reading the book has enabled me to go deeper on the topic than the news headlines. I’m no longer just curious about UPF, I have genuinely changed my outlook and approach to nutrition as a result of what I’ve learned.
A short summary of ultraprocessed food
Over the last 100 years, we have grown to become inundated with “food” that is made up of stuff nothing like the raw ingredients we would find in our kitchens.
The situation has reached a point where it’s hard to go a single meal without consuming something that’s the output of a system focused on mass production, high profit margins, aggressive marketing, and crucially, of low nutritional value.
Most UPF is not truly “food” in the sense that our bodies can’t always fully understand it. UPF is often engineered to give a quick hit of taste, appealing to our senses thus encouraging us to crave that hit time and time again (see: Pringles, and their tagline “once you pop you just can’t stop).
It’s this way because most companies prioritise profit and growth over everything else. Why does shop-bought ice cream have bacterial slime in it? To help it keep its structure and stop melting so easily during transit between distribution centres, supermarkets, and our own homes. I.e. to optimise the supply chain.
The book is pretty clear: UPF is bad for you! But if you want, you can find ways to disprove that. And there are many vested interests (every large name in food manufacturing) to seed as much doubt as possible into this notion.
If you want a healthy diet, eat a variety of lots of plants, cook your own meals from scratch, and minimise eating Ultraprocessed food.
As far as I’m concerned, there are few things more important for health than what we choose to consume. Changing your diet (not just going on a diet) can have tremendous consequences for your health.
Beyond ourselves, though, the consequences of us reducing UPF consumption seem to be extensive: healthier diets, reduced demand on our health service, less packaging, less litter, a more sustainable approach to farming, and more.
Here are a few other takeaways from the book.
Cooking at home
If you’ve been following my recent posts, you might remember I’ve also been paying closer attention to my spending habits.
UPF can be cheaper than “proper food” sometimes, but the tradeoffs generally aren’t worth it. All in all I’ve found it hard to eat more cheaply and healthily than eating at home and cooking your own food.
Fortunately I love cooking. I haven’t always been into cooking, but I’ve grown to appreciate the process over time. It’s almost meditative for me — to plan meal, purchase raw ingredients, and proceed to turn those ingredients into something special for me and my guests.
Cooking at home doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many flavours and combinations waiting to be discovered! I’ve always loved Jamie Oliver as an entry into easy yet delicious meals. I still love Jamie, but I’ve graduated onto some adventurous flavours with Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, Dishoom, and others.
If you haven’t cooked in a while, or you’ve been in a rut with your meals, I implore you to spend an hour this week and mix it up. Grab a recipe on the web, pop some ingredients together, and cook something. Try it and let me know how it goes!
A few food related resources I’ve found helpful
- Ultraprocessed People: the book I’m banging on about.
- Crouton app: a delightful iOS app for planning your meals, collecting recipes, and reading instructions while cooking.
- Jamie’s 5 Ingredients: probably the single most used cookbook I have. Ideal for finding quick ideas in a rush.
- Ottolenghi OTK: any of his books are worth a look.
- Dishoom cookbook: if you like Indian food, prepare to have your socks knocked off.
Apple updates
I said I was done with apple updates last week. I lied. Kinda.
We helped out at a community orchard as a team on Wednesday and it was a truly delightful experience. We picked hundreds of apples, and learned a lot about where our food comes from. Did you know there are over 2,500 varieties of apple in the UK alone?!
Other things
- I pushed myself with an endurance event called the Hardest Mile. It was hard, but I found it thrilling to test my limits. I’m often amazed at what we are capable of what we challenge ourselves and get out of our comfort zone.
- A profile of Jony Ive in the New York Times on what he’s been up to after leaving Apple.
Quote for the week ahead
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.” — Eckhart Tolle (a German author)