Doctor ate ultra-processed food for a month in the name of science
The True Horror Of The Ultra-Processed Foods That Dominate Our Diets — From A Doctor Who Ate It For A Month In The Name Of Science
The takeover of ultra-processed foods in our supermarkets has reached a peak.
From ready meals to frozen desserts, even most of the bread is ultra-processed, loaded with sugar, salt and a bewildering array of preservatives.
But how bad is it for your health to indulge in a bowl of ultra-processed cereal for breakfast, or to gulp down a prepackaged sandwich from the high street?
To get answers, Dr. Chris van Tulleken embarked on a month-long experiment in which he got 80 percent of his diet from UPF. And the results cause stomach cramps when reading.
Dr. Chris van Tulleken was left sore, tired and angry – and felt as if he had aged ten years
In just a few weeks, he gained 6 kg (a little less than a stone). He was left sore, tired and angry – and felt as if he had aged ten years. Even more frightening, MRI scans at the end of the experiment revealed that his brain had begun developing new pathways, something more associated with addictive drugs than food.
Can UPF be as addictive as alcohol or drugs? Dr. Van Tulleken thinks so and says: ‘Until recently, most scientists thought that food couldn’t possibly be addictive. Yet I know from experience that I felt very strongly “addicted” to certain types of UPF (mainly take-out).’
Click here to view the first excerpt from Dr. van Tulleken about The Mail+while a big new series begins in the Mail – Ultra-processed people: why are we all eating things that aren’t food… and why can’t we stop?