Academic and physician Chris van Tureken: “Ultra-processed foods are the foods that lied to us'' Nutrition

CChris Van Tureken suggested we meet at a local pizzeria. sweet thursday, Located in Hackney, east London. Even if that choice seems counterintuitive to someone whose mission is to improve the nation's diet, he will tell us that he is right when we sit down. “Pizza has become a symbol of junk food, but a good homemade pizza is very healthy,” he says.

At Sweet Thursday, purist Italian chefs create fresh sourdough bases in an open kitchen (rumor has it that they're very purists in the profession and draw the line at salad-making). But it's not just reliability that matters, so does community. Van Taleken lives around the corner. The owner grew up nearby, so this is often a place where local families come to catch up and celebrate. “Above all, restaurants should not be just a way to extract money in exchange for nutrition,” Van Taleken said. “Or to pay dividends to offshore investors. And I think these things are actually obvious, even if you don't live in the nutrition world like I do.”

Van Tureken's distinction is at the heart of his research into the damage ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are causing to our physical and mental health.His bestselling book claims super processed people That means food processed by companies using additives, emulsifiers and modified starches essentially “hacks our brains” and disrupts the normal regulation of appetite. It tricks us into eating more by being softer, smoother, saltier and sweeter than whole foods, which his evidence suggests is driving the obesity epidemic. That's the trillion dollar fact. In the course of deep research, he acts as a guinea pig for these theories (with the occasional help of his twin brother Zand, who is also a doctor and is his built-in control group due to their shared genetic makeup) borrow). His months of poor eating habits meant that what he was consuming was not food at all, but, as one academic colleague kept insisting to him, “industrially processed edible substances.” It was helpful to show. Or “food that lies to us.”

When we order at Sweet Thursday, a rustic chicken liver crostini and fried zucchini to start, a spring risotto for him, and a pizza of the month for me (with artichokes and asparagus), he… I'll make a little prediction. Your pizza is here. ” That means it won't slide down like a deep Domino's plate and leave you wanting more. You may feel full because you need to chew and digest the food thoroughly.

When sharing his starter, Van Taleken apologizes in advance for any vagueness in his thoughts. His third child is 6 weeks old and sleep is a memory. As well as promoting the paperback of his book, he also has to consider his day job as an infectious disease expert at University College London. And I also have to think about his latest podcast episode of his series (with Xand). He spent the morning writing a submission to the Lords Select Committee on Food, Diet and Obesity.

In the year since the book was published, there has been strong backlash against his claims. In the afterword to the paperback edition, he offers a rather devastating rebuttal of that criticism, much of which he says comes from the academics who sponsor his work. It's clear. Various multinational food conglomerates. “Tentacular” is the word he uses to describe those companies’ involvement in committees devoted to regulatory discussions.

He has experienced its reach firsthand. “When this book came out, I half imagined I might be on the stand against Nestlé or someone else,” he says. “But their approach is more subtle.” For example, one major food company asked if I would be interested in giving a 30-minute talk to its senior team for a fee of £20,000. He said he would do it, but would pay his own expenses and donate the money to a food charity.

When the deal was finalized, he changed his mind. It included a clause binding him not to publicly disparage the company “throughout the world and forever.”

To counter the negative effects of UPF, Van Tulleken offers two recommendations. First, outlaw conflicts of interest for UK scientific bodies and advisory bodies. And second, to create effective warning labels for foods.

Many of the criticisms of the UPF idea are that it is difficult to define Therefore, it is slippery to regulate. Mr van Tureken said better implementation of the UK's existing dietary guidance on fat, salt and sugar would “capture 95% of the UPF” and that these foods should not be labeled with black warning octagons. They argue that this means they cannot make health claims or target marketing to children. “Have some Coco Pops,” he says. “If you pick up a box at the supermarket, there will probably be half a dozen health claims written on it. But even with the warning octagon, you can't make those claims.” We couldn't bring monkeys to the front. We couldn't sell them in hospitals or schools.”

The story of how he came to this mission is instructive. He grew up in Hammersmith, west London.His early plans were to become a fighter pilot – he looked at it top gun – But his first solo flight disappointed him. He then trained as a surgeon, but eventually followed Zand and began researching tropical diseases.

While working in Central Africa, he saw many children dying from infectious diseases. “And the reason they died wasn't because there weren't antibiotics,” he says. It meant that they were being fed baby food made with sewage water…Powdered milk was sold directly to families as an aspiration. ” The more we witnessed this tragedy, the more it became clear that “the solution is to limit corporate behavior.” [marketing] Power rather than needing more antibiotics. What we now call the commercial determinants of health. ”

His research reveals how food multinationals are working hard to feed us more and more nutritionally poor foods. He indicates that their tests focus on speed and quantity of consumption. He suggested it was no coincidence that tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds acquired Kraft and Nabisco, respectively, in the 1980s. I knew that.''

In recent weeks, much of the discussion around UPF has come down to our daily bread.what did he make it with of guardian article Cambridge genetics professor Giles Yeo acknowledged the evidence but said: The relationship between UPF and 32 negative health effectsHe also seems to have argued that, “Despite the taste, supermarket bread is no worse for you than high-quality bread.''

“I have a lot of time for Giles,” he says. “But for me, that article was very confusing. When I compared basic bread from the supermarket to real bread that wasn't anything special, supermarket bread was very high in salt and generally Contains more sugar than recommended levels It is very dry and has a high energy density, i.e. the number of calories per 100 grams of food, which is very good for weight gain. We know it's important. And supermarket bread is super soft, meaning you eat it quickly and burn off calories before you're full.”

Yeo's extensive discussion of the inaccuracy of the UPF label touched on another persistent argument: that whole foods are an elitist concern. If you have the time, 4 pounds of bread will do the trick. Van Tulleken has two objections to this. The first is that the obesity crisis is costing the NHS billions of pounds a year. How about taxing the UPF element and using it to subsidize healthier local food production? And secondly, much of the “snobbery” about proper food is driven by vested interests. It is, he believes, “industrially produced.”

“So the British Nutrition Foundation. [whose members include corporations such as McDonald’s, British Sugar and Mars, with funding from firms including Nestlé, Mondelēz and Coca-Cola] There was a quote like this:We believe it is important to not be prejudiced against people in poverty. [by advising them what not to eat]. ” Agree! The real source of shame and stigma should be directed at governments that refuse to regulate these things…”

While he was telling me about all this, I was slowly eating this month's amazing pizza. It's far from a double-blind study, but his prediction is correct. In fact, I'm so satisfied that I can't finish reading it. But how about some homemade gelato, he asks?

Ah, please continue.

Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken now available in paperback (Penguin, £)10.99)