NO KIDDING –
Nov/ 20, 2024 – Ultra-processed food. You’re probably sick of hearing the phrase. You’ve probably started tuning it out, along with words like “microbiome” and “anti-inflammatory.” What do you mean by “ultra-processed food”? You might have thought a few times (or maybe that was just me, last week.) Isn’t every food item processed? Why does it matter to what degree, or how many times—a sandwich is still a sandwich, am I right girls?
I was like you once (again, last week). But then I started taking a closer look at this buzzword, and realized that maybe I was missing something. Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs—account for around 57% of all calories consumed in many countries, more so among children and less affluent populations, which have been linked to all manner of diseases and adverse health outcomes, from dementia to cancer to depression and type 2 diabetes. And yet, we’re gobbling them up like Pacman. All of this “food” that I thought I was eating, was actually, lo and behold, eating me. There was only one thing for it: I was going to cut out UPFs for a week, and see if anything changed.
