#DailyBloggingChallenge (82/100)
Currently getting through the book “Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food” by Chris van Tulleken. The author talks about a scenario that the human #biology instinctively made us associate certain foods with certain macro/micro nutrients and other compounds. So if we start binging on tomatoes daily for weeks, this could be our reptile brain doing its job.
Though this brings up another scenario of the daily recommendation of certain nutrients, which would contradict the example brought up in the book. The human body isn’t a one day battery like some phones, but can store various macros/micros for longer than 24h. This would in return question if the daily recommended amount is a marketing campaign to sell more food items. Especially when considering that most non-packaged foods do not have such labels in the first place, such as fruits and vegetables.
#DailyBloggingChallenge (83/100)
The book uses the term “Ultra Processed Food” (UPF), which is any edible substance that is generally considered as safe to eat and one typically cannot produce at home, because either one is missing the know-how or the equipment.
When looking the Nova classification it would be considered group 4, where as all the groups are:
- Unprocessed or minimally processed foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, etc.)
- Processed culinary ingredients (e.g. olive oil, salt, sugar, vinegar, honey, etc.)
- Processed foods (e.g. cheese, bread, canned vegetables, foods made from group 1 + group 2 like pastries or cakes, etc.)
- Ultra-processed foods (e.g. candies, margarine, meat substitutes, sodas, etc.)
The science is still open if all UPFs are bad for you, though the UN suggests to avoid them entirely.
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#DailyBloggingChallenge (84/100)
Although the UN suggests to avoid UPF altogether, the author notes that the human race is in a big science experiment to figure out the results of such foods. From the data that already exists out there, we know that there is a correlation between the consumption of UPFs and weight gain to unhealthy levels.
What still is inconclusive is which UPFs can be consumed with no or minimal detrimental effects onto the body and/or what percentage of our diet can be compromised with UPFs with the already stated effects.
Thus out of personal interest, I wonder how much of my diet is made out of UPFs and which form do I consume the most.
#DailyBloggingChallenge (85/100)
Although there exist foods that are generally reconsidered as safe (GRAS), which is applicable when enough scientific studies exist. This is a shortcut that lots of manufacturers use after developing a new food substance, so they don’t have go through the FDA process, which takes much longer.
And usually industry will finance the study in such a fashion, that they get the results that fit their agenda. Meaning hypothetical industry could create an UPF that is addictive (most are) and sell as safe. Thereby making a lot of profit off of one’s addiction.