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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask you how to reduce UPF

61 replies

Calvinlookingforhobbes · 15/11/2023 20:35

Just that really. Which switches could I easily make to reduce UPF without too much effort, please?

OP posts:
H34th · 18/11/2023 09:58

ValancyRedfern · 15/11/2023 22:12

Don't worry too much. I have grave doubts about the science behind this latest fad. https://thecritic.co.uk/whos-afraid-of-upfs-part-2/
https://thecritic.co.uk/institutionalising-orthorexia/

Have you tried it?
Have a week or two of eating things sold in packets with lots of artificial ingredients and then a week where you eat veg and meat and sugar and butter - things you've cooked/ put together yourself. Come back and tell us if you don't see a difference.

H34th · 18/11/2023 10:07

unsync · 15/11/2023 23:18

If the list of ingredients has something that wouldn't be found in a kitchen cupboard/pantry, but only in a factory, don't buy it. Reading packets is both surprising and shocking.

This is the rule we go by.

Also even if all the ingredients sound fine (things you can find in your kitchen), the other thing to consider is the 'purpose' of the food sold (from 'Ultra Processed People') - is the food meant to nourish you and be nutritious or is it made irresistible enough to encourage overeating/ be bought more of (with only profit in mind). His example was a ready made supermarket lasagne.

Workawayxx · 18/11/2023 10:22

It depends really on what you eat now but things I did (attempting to eat 80% non UPF):

Bread maker , so quick and easy to use and you can make brioche, raisin bread etc to replace some cakes/biscuits. Also make homemade pizza dough in it (also much cheaper and nicer). I do use yeast that has an emulsifier in but figure it’s such a tiny amount I’m ok with it.

Swap biscuits to shortbread (look at the ingredients but some are non UPF)

Home made hobnobs - mix equal amounts of sugar, SR flour, melted butter and oats. Make small balls, flatten slightly and put in the oven on a baking sheet for 15 mins at 180 degrees. Let them cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack (they’re quite soft when they come out of the oven but do firm up). You can also add raisins or choc chips before cooking or drizzle with dark choc after (there are some that are non UPF but I tend not to worry for a small drizzle!).

Swap crisps to Aldi posh lightly salted crisps - just potatoes, oil and salt (sone people say rapeseed oil is bad but I’m ok with this). Dip in apple cider vinegar while eating for salt and vinegar.

Passata or Aldi tinned cherry tomatoes have no preservatives etc in whereas many tinned tomatoes do.

plain Greek yoghurt with honey/maple syrup and frozen blueberries or chopped toasted hazelnuts and a spoon of cocoa.

soda stream or soda water with posh squash (I like the bottle green ones, the elderflower is lovely) or mixed with fresh apple juice rather than fizzy drinks.

roast a chicken Or tuna, cheese etc for sandwiches rather than ham/salami.

Aldi all butter croissants are non UPF.

H34th · 18/11/2023 10:29

I've realised in my family I was the one eating the most UPFs, as when working from home I'd just grab something from a packet and never make myself something fresh. So as soon as I read the book, that changed! It was the easiest change too as I was sold on the concept.

Dh hasn't stopped buying cereal bars and flavoured yoghurts but now he's the only one eating the yoghurts and the cereal boxes are just sitting in the cupboard.

I made bread a few times and also started buying 'fresh' unpacked bread. We reduced cheap take always significantly and don't buy readymade supermarket foods, cereals and most snacks other than nuts and seeds.

Dc was never keen on processed food from little - I did make an effort when he was little to give him home cooked and he carried on at school age. Meant no school dinners- he can't eat fishfingers, sausages or their pizza- but that's fine. He does have sweet tooth though so asks for a specific shop biscuit now and again and I buy it for his packed lunch, but try to bake quick cookies/oat biscuits so he has other home treats.
However, the things he brings from school are horrendous (pics attached) - it's very hard to be completely UPF-free in the world we live in.

To ask you how to reduce UPF
H34th · 18/11/2023 10:37

Also read a few comments saying expensive things have less rubbish in them, buy organic etc.
I don't agree. Just always look at the back of the packaging. Lidl have a peanut butter that is 100% peanuts only.

Great tips from @Workawayxx also.

Mamato29192 · 18/11/2023 10:54

You don't. I'm certainly not

Spottywombat · 18/11/2023 13:57

If you are used to a heavily processed diet, it does take a while to adjust. Definitely worth it tho.

I cook well but I can't achieve a bliss point from foods that have been formulated to do just that.

canyon2000 · 18/11/2023 16:28

Spottywombat · 15/11/2023 23:23

Stick to the edges of the supermarket.

So meat, veg, nuts, cheese, etc.

Look at ingredients, if there's lots & it sounds like you need a chemistry degree to interpret them, that's a upf.

Some stuff is surprisingly ok, so tortilla chips. 😁

Chris van Tulleken wrote the book, great listen on YouTube.

If I stuck to the edges of our supermarket I would be eating Christmas chocolates, Bakery products, crisps and ice cream! Meat, veg, nuts and cheese are in the middle aisles. I don't think all supermarkets have the same layout as yours!

Spottywombat · 18/11/2023 18:03

Erm, you're right, I wonder if that's why our local Tesco had a massive redesign. It was pretty standard advice a few years ago.

The position of products is heavily studied to promote maximum sales & extend time in the store.

wwyd2021medicine · 18/11/2023 18:09

Ryvita is not upf, nor is Aldi own brand.

Just in case that helps anyone with quick lunches

SnowflakeSparkles · 07/03/2024 07:08

And worrying about UPF consumption is definitely NOT a privileged first world problem, they are disproportionately consumed by people on lower incomes.

Worrying about UPFs is NOT the new 'gluten free'

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