CHEMICAL REACTION

Are ultra-processed foods secretly sabotaging your health? Here’s why it might be time to take a closer look at food labels

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Oat milk. Cereal. Hummus. Plant-based burgers… Hands up whose weekly groceries list goes something like this? Ours, too. But did you know these wholesome-sounding staples are often ultra-processed foods (UPFs) which, when consumed in excess, have been linked to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease?

“In the UK, we’re now consuming more than 50% of our energy from UPFs,” says Dr Sarah Berry, associate professor in the department of nutritional sciences at King’s College, London, and chief nutritional scientist on the ZOE PREDICT study. “While their convenience and palatability is tempting, research shows this is having a potentially devastating impact on our health. UPFs tend to produce big peaks and dips in blood sugar, which are bad for cardiovascular health and conditions such as type-2 diabetes and obesity.”

If you want to protect your health or lose a few pounds, the answer might be to stop counting calories and start checking the ingredients in your favourite products.

What are UPFs?