Indigestible truths about modern food

Chris van Tulleken's book is the outcome of an experiment in which the author is the lab rat—by choice. The London-based doctor and academic goes on an 80 per cent ultra-processed food diet for four weeks to study its effects on his state of being—on his body and mind.

- VEENU SANDHU

The title of the book, Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food...and Why Can't We Stop?, doesn't quite prepare you for the horrors that lie inside—or, for that matter, all around us: In our kitchen cabinets, in our refrigerators, served in beautiful bowls at our favourite restaurant, in that ice-cream tub bought from that healthy ice-cream place, in that energy bar kept in the bag for the late afternoon snacking at work...and even in probiotic yoghurt.

Before all of this, the first question that comes to mind is: What qualifies as ultra-processed food and how do we tell that what we are consuming is ultra-processed? The thumb rule the author offers is: If you do not recognise the ingredients on the food packet, and if those ingredients aren't something you would find in the kitchen, then consider it to be ultra-processed. For instance, among its ingredients, a packet of wafers in my bag lists "Maltodextrin", "natural and nature identical flavouring substances", "anticaking agent" and "flavour enhancers". I cannot say for sure what each of these ingredients are. Dr van Tulleken's book has ensured that this packet will remain unopened.

He also writes that if it is a food item covered in plastic, then, too, treat it as a sign that it is probably ultra-processed.