Ultra-processed peoole; why we cant stop eating food that isnt food

   

Title of the book: Ultra Processed People why we can't stop eating food that isn't food 

Author: Chris van Tulleken 

Publisher: W.W. Norton 

Publishing Date: 2023 

ISBN: 978-1-324-07626-1

Summary:

Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2023)

New York Times Bestseller

Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year

A manifesto to change how you eat and how you think about the human body.

It’s not you, it’s the food.

We have entered a new age of eating. For the first time in human history, most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food. There’s a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, it’s UPF.

These products are specifically engineered to behave as addictive substances, driving excess consumption. They are now linked to the leading cause of early death globally and the number one cause of environmental destruction. Yet almost all our staple foods are ultra-processed. UPF is our food culture and for many people it is the only available and affordable food.

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. But more than teaching him about the experience of the food, the diet switched off Chris’s own addiction to UPF.

In a fast-paced and eye-opening narrative he explores the origins, science, and economics of UPF to reveal its catastrophic impact on our bodies and the planet. And he proposes real solutions for doctors, for policy makers, and for all of us who have to eat. A book that won’t only upend the way you shop and eat, Ultra-Processed People will open your eyes to the need for action on a global scale.

Author Info:
(From goodreads)

Chris van Tulleken is an associate professor at University College London and a practicing infectious diseases doctor with a PhD in molecular virology. A BAFTA-winning broadcaster on the BBC across television and radio, he lives with his family in London.

Personal Opinion:

When I say that this book has been quite a ride, I do mean it. I was vaguely interested in makeup of foods, although I have a family that is obsessive about it. I wanted to read it mainly to expand my knowledge of what is going on, and this book has done that and more. What I enjoyed is the writing style which is written for an average layperson rather than a scientist. I also loved learning fascinating facts about UPF and the fact that author takes time to go over various myths and reasons as to what UPF is doing, why it was created and why it's designed the way it is. Without exaggeration it's a heartbreaking book and I definitely will recommend that everyone reads it. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)