UPF.... WTF - I knew it was addictive but didn't realise...

[PaminaMozart]

... how quickly things can fall apart!

I'm a self-confessed health nut. Love exercise, lots of walking, and my diet is normally supper healthy. Lots of vegetables, lean protein, a smattering of complex carbs, healthy fats and dairy/mostly yoghurt.

It has stood me in good stead. At 70 I am really fit and my health-MOT suggests a biological age of 53 or thereabouts.

BUT...... for the past 10 days I have had relatives staying with me who seem addicted to UPF, carbs and sugary 'treats'. They sleep till 10, so I've given my usual morning workouts a miss so as not to disturb them. No point cooking stuff they won't eat. Or we eat out at places with limited/no healthy options.

Slowly but surely I've fallen into a pattern of eating what they eat, drinking wine daily (as opposed to a glass once or twice a week), and taking the bus instead of walking.

And, even after such a short time I have gained weight, my belly is definitely more prominent, and my lovely muscles seem sadly diminished.

A salutary lesson. Use it or loose it. I wonder how long it'll take me to get back to where I was...?!!

You mean the obesity epidemic?

Have you been living under a rock? You do know there’s now more people living with obesity and who are overweight than not. Those figures are rising. It’s undoubtedly a consequence of the industrialisation of food.

1 in 5 children leave primary school obese so they’re likely to be obese adults with significantly decreased life expectancy and all manner of health complications.

Unless you consider type 2 diabetes, early death, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and increased stress and tension that can affect bone growth “normal” that is. Which it sort of is normal, but it’s not ok and it’s not the future I want for my kids.

Generally upf free here but I give some things a pass.
Mayonnaise, brown sauce, Thai curry pastes as I will never use up the fish paste stuff within date/storage time. Stock cubes. Protein powder.

Yes I don’t know enough about it really 🤔 I guess if you read the ingredients list and it’s like a chemistry lesson then avoid ?😆 I’d have thought the canning process just prolongs food shelf life and freezing 🥶 foods does the same .
plus those very nice Charlie Bigham’s meals ingredients list read like a homemade dinner

Yes, well said.

Also SoLo7, have you asked these ancient relics whether they’d rather be dead, or is it just your opinion they’d be better off that way?

Of course we always think it will be terrible to get old, but when we get there we find it’s generally better than the alternative.

Everyone is so bitter and mean on here. If I have muscles at 70 I will be extremely proud of them. UPF are not something one can ‘enjoy as part of a balanced diet’, they’re mass marketed shite labelled as convenient or as ‘treats’, and the reason that the western world has increasingly suffered from
childhood obesity, diabetes and other health related problems. People get so weird about defending their right to eating shit.

They really do!

I’d have thought the canning process just prolongs food shelf life and freezing 🥶 foods does the same .

Yes, freezing and canning are very useful forms of processing!
I did the Zoe thing a few months ago, iirc baked beans didn't get flagged as 'UPFs' - they're processed but they're still mostly bean and tomato even if they've got a bit of seasoning etc.

I don’t find it strange that they defend their own rights to eat the stuff, it’s the passion with which some posters defend the rights of the big food companies to constantly push the stuff at us and our children without restriction that puzzles me. When people suggest banning advertising or maybe restricting availability near schools or in the workplace they get lots of shouts of ‘willpower!’ and ‘it’s my responsibility what I put in my mouth!’ Which it is, but it would be easier for everyone to make healthy choices if it wasn’t quite so ubiquitous.

I eat whatever I like including so-called UPFs and I'm slim and healthy.

The obsession with 'UPFs' is just the latest craze. I've seen plenty come and go. It strikes me as a manifestation of disordered eating to latch onto any particular mindset in this way.

I'm happy just cracking on with life. You do you.

I think that it's important to remember that, apart from whole foods and vegetables, most foods are processed in some way, and there isn't always a strict dividing line between processed and ultra-processed - it's a continuum.

My unscientific definition of UPF is food that has been messed aroundwith unnecessarily and contains ingredients that worry me or that I do not recognize: E-numbers, emulsifiers, artificial colourants, flavour enhancers, stabilizers - in other words, ingredients you'd not add if you were making the food yourself. Then there's excessive salt and different forms of sugar (especially if labelled to confuse people and make it seem that the total amount is less than it is).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62586003-ultra-processed-people

Well said!

The ultra processed food that is presented as a ‘normal’ diet in this country is a disgrace. So many of us have lost sight of what a normal, healthy diet that nourishes our body looks like, and it is having desperate consequences on the nation’s health.

Good on the OP for continuing to live a healthy, active lifestyle into older age, I find people like her inspirational.

This 👆

I know what you mean, even after a day eating food I know is not good I feel bloated and unhealthy. Sometimes it’s hard to get decent food when you’re out and about. I too need my daily half hour exercise or a long walk just to feel well. I’m definitely with you.

This thread reminds me of when I temped in the hospital of a clinic. A lot of elderly people presented with a lot of problems related to overweight and lack of exercise. And then you'd get the odd person of that age who was fit and healthy and guess what? They didn't smoke, drink or eat junk food. They were also active. That was a long time ago, but it stayed with me.

For those who say that a healthy lifestyle is boring well, when we all get old it will be a hell of a lot more boring to be stuck indoors in front of the telly than out and about like the elderly fifties.

I agree. We attend a local village church with an older congregation. There are a number of healthy, active older members living very full lives. One of the notable things about those that are out and about and attending services into their eighties is that they tend to be slim, or at least not significantly overweight. I presume those who are not are either not in good enough health to regularly attend these events or sadly have not made it to that age.

Although, I have to say none of them is adverse to a scone or slice of lemon drizzle with their cuppa at the end of the service!

Although, I have to say none of them is adverse to a scone or slice of lemon drizzle with their cuppa at the end of the service!

That's the thing though, it's fine as an occasional treat, every week
Eating cake / biscuits/ pastries every day doesn't work for your average sedentary brit.

WhatI noticed when I lived in France was that they ate plenty of bread/ pastries etc but they were way more active

People underestimate the damage caused by physical inactivity.

People also underestimate how much they eat and their true size.

I've seen UPFs referred to as "engineered food" which I think is a helpful concept to distinguish them from food that already exists as food then processed to preserve it.

Aslong as you’re ok, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

If you are interested in gaining one knowledge that’s not entirely subjective I’d recommend Chris Van Tulleken’s book.

I recently joined 2 different FB groups about UPFs , for information and recipes. There was lots of really obsessive behaviour and posting of "is this UPF free" whilst holding up sauce bottles, prepared foods, powders and potions. I thought "just cook with as many real and unpackaged foods as you can" rather than just trying to find commercial products that are UPF. I left the groups. They were silly

My mother's (geriatric) psychiatrist who diagnosed her with Alzheimers explained to me that vascular dementia more often occurs with co morbidities like diabetes and COPD and alcohol misuse. Also being overweight and having high cholesterol and HBP. I'd never really made the link before, but it's not just the organs you'd think of being directly affected by poor lifestyle choices. Unfortunately Alzheimers is less preventable.

Yes. I did the same. I am of the view of reducing UPF, not entirely removing it from my diet. I just had a big salad with chicken breast, I’m not concerned about the UPF majo/ceasar dressing although I’ll use the least UPF item. I went down a rabbit hole with it a bit and started making my own stock etc. I just couldn’t keep it up, now
i try and assess objectively - my homemade chilli or spaghetti bolognese won’t be null and void of nutrition if I add a stock cube.

I agree, but I have to say homemade mayo or Cesare dressing is easy and really tasty.