Ultra Processed Foods | E10

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, team, and welcome back to the pod. This is Train Like a Girl with Abby, and I want to welcome you to this episode about ultra-processed foods today. I've talked in the last few episodes briefly. I maybe have like brought this up a couple of times in passing and kind of said, oh, I need to do a podcast on this in future. Because the truth is the internet right now seems to be terrified of any processed foods. There is a huge wave of fear-mongering around processed foods and ultra-processed food foods. You might see that named as UPFs everywhere, plastered everywhere right now. Social media, documentaries, there are TV shows, podcasts, and it's frightening because a lot of the people that talk about these things are sometimes dieticians, sometimes claim to be doctors or like health gurus or experts or whatever. And it's frightening because the message is everywhere. And that message is that processed foods are killing you. So I wanted to give my two cents on this today. And as ever, I will only ever come from a science-backed approach and research like lead and all of that kind of thing. So I hope that I will sort of, I don't know, give you a good kind of, I don't know, reduce your fear around this a little bit today and give you a bit of an insight to my brain and how I might approach things with my clients because, well, you'll see my opinion as this episode unfolds. But let's get into it, shall we? So the reason I think this narrative spreads so easily is because there's usually like a small grain of truth behind some of the big uh marketing, I don't know, the big claims that people make online about ultra-processed foods. But when a grain of truth gets turned into like a blanket rule, that for me is when I think misinformation starts creeping in. And, you know, this is, as I said, happening a lot with influencers and quote unquote experts, amplifying this fear. And it's terrifying because there are so many big voices out there that are pushing on this. And I'm seeing it unfold. And I'm thinking, as somebody, I'll I'll say it out loud, as somebody with an extensive history of eating disorders and having worked with many, many women that have dealt with diet culture, et cetera, it's really frightening because the implications, the negative health implications of being exposed to all of this fear-mongering around processed foods is actually, in my opinion, more of an issue than the ultra-processed foods themselves. Let's just, let's use an example. So I'm gonna just, I'm gonna just do it. I'm gonna throw the name out there. And this is somebody that I really respected in years ago. So, you know, we to my point, really, the point that I will make today, it's so easy to fall for this because the people that are sending us this message, sometimes they innocently really do believe it and they back it because they're hearing it themselves and they therefore like believe it themselves. And these are people that are lots of the nation put on a pedestal. So I'm gonna just give you an example. A good example is Joe Wicks. And this isn't me saying that he's a bad person, like I just prefaced. You know, I think sometimes people are well-meaning, but they don't understand the negative consequences that might come off the back of what they're saying. So the reason I use Joe as an example is because recently, semi-recently, he launched a, and you'll have probably seen this on your feed, but he launched a protein bar called, I think it was called Killer, which was a bit of a um play on words to the grenade carb killer protein bars. Um he he released this protein bar called Killer alongside, or kind of like before, a big TV show, pushing this message that ultra-processed foods can essentially kill you. I do that with quotation marks. Now, on the surface, that sounds dramatic, but it is also really good marketing. And you can also see similar messages, messages like this from people like anyone associated with like the Zoe Diet, Tim Specter, the glucose goddess, they all talk about things like ruining metabolic health or I don't know, using just big language and big words around why you shouldn't eat certain foods. And this is a huge red flag. And where we can often determine whether something is a red flag or not is what they follow up with. So when somebody, for example, it's not always obvious, but you know, sometimes it's obvious. It's like when they'll say something like, This food is terrible for you, and then in the next breath or the next post or a week later, it's like, and here is the solution that I'm selling you. So remember with a lot of these big bold statements, there is almost always a financial angle. And it doesn't mean that these people are evil or they're lying, but it's naive to think that money isn't involved in shaping messaging like this, like big, bold messaging. You know, there are food brands now like MS that will that are selling ultra um clean or sort of limited ingredient. MS recently brought out that limited ingredient um line of foods, right? Ranging them at a premium price. It's not a coincidence. They are preying on our insecurities, our fears, and monetizing off it. To me, it's really obvious because I'm looking at it through the lens of having educated myself around this, but I can totally, I'm not being patronizing, like I can totally see why it might appear as like a really good thing. But yeah, in today's podcast, I want to strip that right back, talk about what ultra-processed foods are or processed foods, what that term means, why we shouldn't blanket statement it, and actually the approach that I would take. So yeah, fear sells extremely well in nutrition. Let's just start there. Um, but actually, I think we should probably define what processed foods actually mean. And this is where things get wildly misunderstood. So actually, most foods are processed. Levels, like if we're looking roughly, the thing is, is it this is a tricky conversation because there isn't actually a universal definition for each and every single food group, which is what makes this conversation quite nuanced and tricky. And that's why if we're reading black and white statements, it's probably a bit of a red flag. But if we're looking roughly at things, it might look something like this. So minimally processed foods might be like frozen fruit, frozen veg, bagged salads, oats in a bag. Um, but you know, if we're looking at a food like that, yes, technically it's processed. But actually, frozen berries are often frozen at peak ripeness, which can actually preserve nutrients better than fresh berries. So if we're looking at it from that angle, some processed foods could actually be better for us. And yet they're processed. So if we're listening to the messaging that processed foods are bad, you can see how it doesn't match up, right? So that would be a sort of example of minimally processed foods. But the fact, the sheer fact is like that in itself could be, even though it's processed, it could even be better for us, let alone not bad for you. It could be even better for us. Next, we've got processed foods. So, like we've done minimally processed. Processed would be like jarred sauces, maybe cheese bread, canned beans, canned tuna. These are foods that have been like pres prepared, preserved, or packaged. And but they're still nutritionally useful. They're super useful. Canned beans, processed, but so good for you, super high fiber, etc. And then we've got like the bracket of foods that are ultra-processed, which are obvious things like fast foods, sugary cereals, soft drinks, snacks, but also things like protein bars, protein shakes. These are things that often contain multiple ingredients, additives, flavor enhancers, stabilizers. But, and this is the key, this is the key, key point that I want to make here. Ultra processed does not automatically equal dangerous. And the real problem here is that people are scared of the wrong things. A huge issue with the UPF panic is that people focus on tiny details instead of the fundamentals. So this messaging is getting pushed to us that ultra-processed foods are bad, which is making a whole sea of people avoid things like protein bars when they're not actually eating enough protein to begin with. The benefit of eating a protein bar, despite it being ultra-processed, might actually outweigh, you know, the pros might actually outweigh the cons. Because a lot of people are not, we're getting like sucked into the miners, right? We're getting sucked into like, oh, let's avoid this, avoid that, before we've even considered are we eating enough fiber? Are we sleeping enough? Are we generally eating enough protein? Are we exercising regularly? Are we managing stress? People are not doing those big fundamental things, like the big needle movers in life. And yet we've got people telling us to be terrified of eating a protein bar because it's processed. And for me, this is where there's there's just a massive misallocation of attention. And I think what we need to actually really look at, zoom out and look at is, you know, and this is a massive issue for debate and something that would be potentially hours in the making. I'll but I'll give you kind of my, I guess, nutshell. We need to look at when we see these claims, correlation versus causation. So, what do I mean by this? You'll often hear claims like UPFs are linked to heart disease or linked to cancer. You know, we when Joe Wix did the killer protein bar, it was all about like how it's gonna, you know, linked to mortality and all of these big scary things. But whilst there might be a grain of truth, this is the thing, people, these these voices are cherry-picking the pieces of data that they want to scare you. But many of the studies are observational. So what that means is people that eat most ultra-processed foods often also exercise less, smoke more, have lower fruits and veg in their diet, consume consume more calories overall. You know, if if you've got somebody that is eating ultra-processed foods constantly, like bag a bag of Doritos every single day and a tub of Ben and Jerry's every evening, it's likely that they're then lacking nutrients from other foods because most of their calories are coming from foods that are highly palatable, foods that are addictive. Like, yes, they've got they've been processed, but the question is, is it the processing that's causing the problem? Or is it the lifestyle pattern surrounding those foods? Right? That is my argument here. It's it's like we're getting so fixated on being scared of specific ingredients or specific foods like a protein bar, for goodness sake. When actually we should be focused on the bigger things. If you are somebody that has a plethora of fruits and veg in your diet, and you are like looking at your protein intake, you've getting a bit of exercise each day, it don't, I'm not talking about excessive things either. But the reality is that so many of us are missing like the key pieces. And in the interim, we've got these people online that are making us terrified of the small things. So actually, if you are somebody that is generally healthy and you've got like 80% of your diet is actually pretty good, eating some ultra-processed foods is gonna be fine for you. It's really the people that are eating only ultra-processed foods that therefore potentially have, you know, they've probably probably therefore, because these foods are usually quite calorie dense and addictive, by their nature then, if they are just eating those things, it's likely that they are in a calorie surplus, it's likely that they are holding extra body fat. And so the question is like, okay, well, maybe, maybe then it's not the ultra-processed food itself that is causing the problem, but it's the lifestyle around it, right? It's the fact that they don't have nutrients from other foods, it's the fact that they're not exercising much, et cetera. So it's not just as simple as like ultra-processed foods are bad. And, you know, the calorie and palatability factor of the ultra-processed foods needs to be questioned because ultra-processed foods are by their nature more calorie-dense, more palatable, easier to overeat. So, yes, obviously, if somebody eats large amounts of them daily, they might consume excess calories. They might gain body fat over time. And then they have an increased risk of health issues. But again, this doesn't necessarily mean that the processing itself is a problem. It may simply be that overconsumption generally is a problem. Another claim is that UPFs are harmful because they are lower in vitamins and minerals. But again, we're ignoring context. So, as I always say, if there is, if somebody is speaking in black and whites and giving you a definitive like this is bad, I would just, we need to just like question things more. Because if somebody eats vegetables, fruit, protein, whole foods most of the time, and then also has like an occasional takeaway, a protein shake every day, a chocolate bar every now and then, they're not suddenly deficient in those nutrients, right? They still have nutrients from other foods. So we need to just look at that. It's not like I mean, I've repeated the same thing over and over, but the point is that is it correlation or is it causation? And my argument is that it's correlation. And we're looking too broadly at people that maybe if you only ate ultra-processed foods, but the reality is you're probably not doing that. And actually, if you do have a generally healthy diet, having some ultra-processed foods is not going to be too much of an issue for you. And my big argument that I really want to press home about is that fear of food is actually a bigger problem. So when we do start labeling foods as like toxic or dangerous, or like we put them off limits to like never eat them, we create a totally different problem. And this isn't going to happen to every single person, but I think it is worth mentioning because these kind of fears and this like sort of black and white thinking, which is sadly more common, especially with like diet culture as we've had for the last I don't know how many years, it can lead to orthorexic thinking, binge eating, obsessive restriction, guilt around eating. Like this is a real issue because it can lead to eating disorders. And this and that kind of relationship with food on whatever kind of scale can be far more damage, damaging and or is, in my opinion, far more damaging than occasionally eating something processed. It really is. If you are terrified to eat anything, that in itself is more damaging than eating a a McDonald's. Truly. And I'd actually argue, speaking about processed foods a little more, I'd actually argue that they can help people. You know, protein powders are ultra processed, but if they help people hit a protein target when that person is otherwise under on protein, that is a benefit. That's not a bad thing. If we're looking at frozen vegetables, if we're they're processed, but if it means we increase our vegetable intake, and actually frozen vegetables in and of themselves can sometimes be more nutrient-dense than non-frozen, just normal vegetables, because they're frozen at their peak. Um you know, they have their biggest nutritional value. Canned beans, as we talked about earlier, for like fiber intake. And sometimes, even, you know, this is this is a wider issue as well culturally, because affordability too. Meal replacements. Sometimes you can find meals that are pre-packed, easier, like helping busy people, mums, parents, like um people on a lower income, you they there are options there that would be classified as ultra-processed. But if it's like a chicken breast in a bit of mushroom sauce with some spuds on the side, I don't know. There are meal deals that are actually cheaper, more affordable, help people get more nutrients, but in in their nature, they would be processed. So, you know, again, it comes back to what is actually better for you here. I would argue it's better to have those things. So context matters, guys. And yet, some foods are higher in sugar, higher in fats, highly palatable. To give you an example, like Ben and Jerry's, right? Eating these foods, if you had Ben and Jerry's all day, every day, that's probably not great for your health. But having them occasionally in an otherwise balanced diet is not a bad thing. And actually, I think it is a good thing because it keeps you away from that black and white thinking, it's a healthy, balanced diet rather than being terrified to eat them. So the question I think we should be asking is instead of how do I eliminate all ultra-processed foods, or you know, like, can I lose weight if do I have to strip my diet of all ultra? You know, so often I've had women come to me saying, like, oh, I really want to lose weight, but I don't want to give up chocolate. And I'm like, yeah, cool. I wouldn't ask you to. There is so much fear-mongering around ultra-processed foods that it's it's created this scary messaging that we shouldn't be having it for our health and for weight loss and for all of these things. And it's terrifying. Like, we really there are bigger things that we need to be talking about. Accessibility to food. Are we getting enough protein? All of those things. And so rather than being like, how do I eliminate ultra-processed foods? The better question is how can I improve my overall health habits? Things that move the needle most, right? So to come back, loop back to what I was saying at the start, we should be looking more at protein intake, fiber intake, sleep exercise, calorie balance, depending on the goal, but we should have a bit of an idea of calorie intake, stress management. And if those things are in place, a few processed foods here and there are really not going to be a problem. That is my take on ultra-processed foods. And I guess to nutshell, the take-home message that I have for you today is that most foods are processed in some way. And ultra-processed foods are not automatically toxic. Health outcomes are about overall lifestyle patterns, not individual ingredients. If you've got somebody saying, Oh, you should never drink Diet Coke because it's got some um sweetener in it that will ruin your microbiome and all of this stuff, like that scaremongering is not necessary. It's not welcome here. Because demonizing foods creates fear, not better health. And like the minimal uh science we have around those tiny things is so small that actually you're so much better off looking at what's my overall diet like and can I find a balance with these things? And ironically, trying to eliminate all processed foods often creates a worse relationship with food than simply just eating them in moderation to begin with. That is my say and my take on ultra-processed foods. Quite a scary topic to delve into because I know it's quite polarizing, but I hope that helps you feel a little bit more comfortable around this topic. And if you want to share it with somebody that is feeling a little bit uncertain around processed foods, or if you've got like an aunt or uncle or mum or sister or whatever that is saying to you, you can't eat this, maybe send this their way. Um, because the science is telling us that there is more problem with fearing foods than just eating them in moderation. And it's just about using your common sense, guys. Like a tin of tuna is processed, but we ain't gonna not eat a tin of tuna because of its. Negative health. We all know that tins of tuna are healthy, right? So it's about using your common sense and finding balance. That is it from me today, and I will speak to you again next week.