How food companies ‘sweetened the world’ – and increased the risk of disease
How food companies ‘sweetened the world’ – and increased the risk of disease
The hard sell of ultra-processed foods in developing countries as being ‘good for you’ gives children a taste for sugar and salt that could have lasting effects on their health
The hard sell of ultra-processed foods in developing countries as being ‘good for you’ gives children a taste for sugar and salt that could have lasting effects on their health
I always see a lot of misunderstanding in discussions about this stuff, so here is some related reading for anyone who wants to understand why scientists are saying ultra-processed food leads to health problems:
Ultra Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzer
tl;dr?
From the links I provided above:
Ultra Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. The solutions don’t lie in willpower, personal responsibility, or exercise. You’ll find no diet plan in this book―but join Chris as he undertakes a powerful self-experiment that made headlines around the world: under the supervision of colleagues at University College London he spent a month eating a diet of 80 percent UPF, typical for many children and adults in the United States. While his body became the subject of scientific scrutiny, he spoke to the world’s leading experts from academia, agriculture, and―most important―the food industry itself.
The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzer
It’s super tempting to choose a bag of Doritos over an apple for a quick snack. But why is this? Why does pseudo-food take the prize over real, nutritious food that provides us with benefits other than instant taste-bud gratification? It’s all about the flavor.
Real, nutritious and natural food is now largely bred and cultivated for the sake of volume and revenue – but not so much for taste. Things like chicken and tomatoes are grown to maturity as quickly as possible in order to maximize sales, but in the process these foods lose so much of their flavorful potential. In the past, we looked to nature’s already developed and perfected products for sustenance. Now, food companies modify nature in order to turn a profit, and this has a significant impact on its taste. Real food has become increasingly bland, and junk food has all the orange-dusted, finger-lickin’ goodness we now crave!
We reach for the cheese puffs because we know they will satisfy a craving for flavor. The problem is that this (artificial) flavor is a concoction of chemicals that convinces us to eat way more than we should. Ultimately, this is what leads us to rack up the calories and overconsume fats, salts, and sugars.
The worst part is that famous multinational companies, like coca cola and mcdonalds, sell different products(though they often use the same name) in poorer/less regulated countries that have significantly worse nutritional profile, tons more calories, sugar, salt and other nasty things.