Low UPF diet - to think the experts weren’t lying?

[AusBoundDD]

Nearly 6 months ago I made it my New Year’s resolution to start eating a low UPF diet in hopes of losing some weight for a once in a lifetime trip, alongside just being healthier in general. Honestly it has been life changing! I’ve lost nearly 10kg without really having to think about it - no restricting or anything like that and in general I just feel so much better. UPFs like crisps, ready meals, even basic supermarket bread don’t feel like ‘real’ food anymore and no longer appeal. On the occasion that I do choose to eat something UPF (which for me is no big deal, im not strict!) it just isn’t as enjoyable as it used to be. I’d choose some sourdough over a loaf of Hovis any day when previously I used to hate it! I feel much fuller + satisfied for longer and rarely get the urge to snack.

Obviously it has its downsides - much less convenience food so cooking takes longer (PITA when doing lunch/dinner prep after a long day at work!), ingredients are more expensive so my shopping bill has gone up but all in all it’s a decision I don’t regret. Honestly I think that this way of eating should be the future.

Anyone else feel this way?

I definitely feel better just eating real food. Sadly I still have a bit of a chocolate habit. I don't think the message is new - I was looking at it 30 odd years ago when my children were small. I think what has changed is the pressure on everyone now, with very complex lives.
Re all the bread questions - I know it might seem very radical, but it's actually very possible to just go without. I don't eat wheat, and the ingredients in gf foods ( the processed sort) are quite alarming. I think there is quite an addiction to whatever goes into bread, whether it's the wheat or the added ingredients.

@Pickingmyselfup

Artificial sweetener is the thing to ditch. I weened myself off it in my late 20s when I was the only one of a group having sugar./ artificial ones in coffee. Took about a month to get used to the new taste. Can't stand sweetened drinks now.

They are seriously bad news. They affect the gut microbiome but also your insulin levels in a way that is worse than real sugar. They can cause metabolic syndrome (diabetes) even though they are not 'real sugar.'

Also cola is seriously bad news especially for women. The phosphoric acid in it makes bones lose density and contributes to osteoporosis .It really is lethal stuff.

I will try this. Thank you for the useful recipe.

I have RTFT and surprised that despite everyone sharing the love for sourdough, only one other poster has mentioned the health benefits of all fermented foods.

There is SO much scientific evidence to point to the human gut having evolved to digest fermented foods. The gut microbiome is said to be the body's 'second brain' and have an effect on mental wellbeing.

It's easy to add a little fermented food to your diet. I make my own kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut and find the benefits are terrific. So tasty too!

I read the book and thought he relied a bit too much on emotion and the gross out factor. But, generally speaking, a lot of the foods he talks about are ones where it's easy to eat loads of calories very quickly.

regular sugar is not a UPF, so there really isn't any harm in having decent quality chocolate that isn't 100% cacao or adding it to your puddings. It's just about overall quantity. As a diabetic I can tell you that alternatives, other than artificial sweetener, will raise your blood sugar as much as sugar. Fibre or not, dried fruit is pure sugar really. Also, rapeseed or canola oil isn't a UPF, that's a separate argument.

As for the person talking about the USA, I live there. Now, a bunch of disputes involve trade politics but what really matters in the USA is price. The UPF junk is cheap. Good food is expensive. People in poverty wind up having to eat a much poorer quality diet. If you have money and are eating in nice places, the quality of food is on a whole other level from the rubbish in the cereal aisle.

I do think it's about proportion. If you are eating a diet that is largely prepared from fresh ingredients, then the occasional packet of crisps or bottle of Coke or even fast food isn't going to harm you. It's when your diet becomes dominated by these foods, pushing out fresh produce and so on, that you're at risk for health consequences.

What about sourdough from LIDL (or tesco)?

I’ve also massively cut back on UPFs in the last 6 months - although I don’t think I ate as many as a lot of people anyway. I’m also trying to up my protein intake

@AusBoundDD can you let me know where I can get these Crosta / Mollina wraps? I probably only eat bread once a week now but I’d love to have something less processed I could maybe freeze.

Buy a breadmaker and you can make all sorts of of breads with different flours. Only take less than five minutes to weigh the flour, add salt and oil, set the timer, and wholesome bread ready in the morning, great if you are short on time, never eat shop bread again!

well good for you OP
I can't afford to and don't have the time to home cook everything and honestly can't be bothered.

i don't plan to be around more than about 70 anyway if I get there. i don't want to end like my parents - what is the point of all this lovely healthy mediterranean diet and forcing your kids to eat things they absolutely hate and bullying them about their bodies to end up incontinent and senile at 80+ with kids who don't give a fuck.

I'll eat what i want and what i can afford

I'm really shocked at how many people this seems to be news for.

I'm now approaching 60 and have been a healthy weight and (touch wood) in good health all my life. Whenever people say "you're lucky, you don't have to worry about your weight" I say "real food, at regular intervals in sensible portions". It's not rocket science. I've never had a particular policy not to eat much processed food, but why would you? Most of it doesn't even look like food!

This is fascinating; I didn’t read @Gattopardo’s post that way at all.

Well done!

I’ve eaten whole foods since the 1980s, when I stoped eating meat and bought The Whole Food cookbook in my late teens. Have always used wholewheat pasta, whole grain rice etc.

Have brought my kids up the same. When they were little and wanted a snack, I’d give them a box of raisins or a little bowl of chopped up fruit, e.g. apple slices sprinkled with lemon juice, grapes, mango etc. Though they obvs ate crisps, pizza etc when they were older. I’m not a zealot or anything

I cook from scratch most evenings. Once you get used to it, it doesn’t seem like a chore. Stick the radio or a podcast on and get into it. And lots of meals only take 30 mins. My DS’s now all love to cook. It really helps to grow your own herbs. It’s so easy and adds so much flavour. As do spices. If you have a freezer, batch cooking really helps to provide frozen ‘ready meals’.

I honestly think carbonated drinks are the worst. I hated them as a kid. Some people drinks gallons of it every week.

I wish schools taught kids how to cook properly, e.g. a basic tomato sauce, white sauce, basic curries, slaws. It’s the most beneficial thing you can be taught IMHO.

Once again, people completely misunderstand the fundamental problem with UPFs.

It's not the fat or the sugar that's the issue! It's the impact of additives (even 'natural' ones) and processed ingredients on the bacteria in your gut.

That impact is huge and not yet fully understood - but we do know that the result is more inflammation, which itself impacts many/most f our biological processes.

This is why it's increasingly clear that UPFs affect mental as well as physical health.

You’re so right; I am mostly UPF free but am going to try harder. It’s definitely a question of making it a habit and always having UPF free options to hand, and no tempting crisps or biscuits in the cupboard. There is so much UPF food - it’ll be interesting to see whether consumer demand does push the industry towards making healthier options.

I’d disagree with this comment.

I lived in a Scandi country for quite a long time. The bread there is all made the old fashioned way with normal amounts of yeast and being left to prove/rise.

The difference on returning to the UK was so stark that I read up about it. I understand most UK sliced bread is baked using a different method, where there are higher yeast contents and much less time.

It’s very noticeable to me that even nice baps/rolls in the UK quickly feel doughy in your mouth. It’s not imaginary or psychosomatic.

Google Chorleywood bread process, if you’re interested.

Apologies if this has already been said. I haven’t reached the end of the thread yet.

I would say i wish i had time to think about UPF's and cook from scratch but i don't. i HATE cooking and baking with a passion. I leave the house at 6am and get home around 8:30pm Mon-Fri and my weekends are just as manic. My house is basically just there to sleep and shower in 😂i can't think of much worse than spending time in the kitchen - what with not wanting children, i'm not the most wholesome version of a female 😂

What do people who are rarely home eat on the go if they are avoiding UPF's?

Nigella has a recipe for no knead sourdough - you dump everything in a bowl the night before, mix it for 30 seconds or so, no kneading at all, leave it overnight, cook the next day. It does require you to plan your timing, but takes up very little hands on time and creates much less mess than kneading bread on your worktop, getting it all over your hands etc.

I wish someone would tell my body that! I cook a meal most evenings, with protein and masses of vegetables, but still crave something sweet every single night - and often more than one sweet thing

@mumuseli

There's a very different process used in mass produced bread

Look up Chorleywood Bread Process.

This is a really interesting point. I want to feel well now, be a weight I'm happy with, and be at less risk of things like stroke, but at the same time, I don't want to have an extremely long lifespan. I know that the health problems linked to bad diet can be disabling (like stroke if survived), so that's also a risk. A decent lifespan in good health and a quick death - how do we live to maximise the chances of that?

Bread can/should be as simple as flour, salt and yeast - or if it's sourdough, flour, salt and sourdough starter. So there's no actual need for any more ingredients than that and I'd be questioning why anything else is in there. If it's nutritious eg olive oil in ciabatta or seeds on the top of a loaf, then great but otherwise no. Baked in store doesn't mean there aren't dodgy ingredients.

Because I have a tiny kitchen (I live in a flat), there’s only two of us so we don’t eat enough bread to make it worthwhile, and, to be honest, I can’t be arsed / don’t have time as I’m out of the house 12 hours a day.

Same! I eat mostly "real" or non upf food (I do eat wraps which i dont make) but I always want chocolate afterwards
And not 90% dark chocolate, it has to be milk choc

I don't dispute that but there has to be a line somewhere between doing the best we can and being a slave to our diet.

If I ate nothing but lean meat, fish, whole fruit and vegetables, all unsalted I would be in amazing health but I'm not willing to do that. I drink wine, have sweeteners but I try and make better choices elsewhere.

Running is bad for your joints, I'm aware of this but I won't give it up because I enjoy it and it benefits me in other ways like cardio health. So to help prevent injury and bone crumbling I strength train alongside.

I think it's important for people to make better choices but it's not realistic to say "never eat or drink this" because we are humans and we make emotional choices.

We first got a bread machine when it was two of us in a flat with tiny kitchen with little side space and being out the house a lot.

It was less pratical more a novelty and I can't say we though the loaves great at all - then we found the book I linked earlier - and found there's a lot more out there than a standard loaf.

My IL have small kichen and only started doing bread when it was two of them - though they do eat a lot of bread and soup.

I think it fine to say not everyone wants to make their own bread and honestly I don't think supermarket bread is that terrible especially if your diet has little bread in it.

However if you do - bread machine do make the entire process - and if you get right make also yogurt making - much easier and less labour intensive.