Did anyone watch "What are we feeding our kids?" on BBC1

[MarchXX]

Here's link.

i astounded that there has been little to no research of the effect of UPSs on our brains and bodies. The results on Chris (after one month) were dire indeed.

Chris's brain scans before and after were shocking but not surprising as UPF food manufacturers spend multi££££millions on research to find the perfect bliss point to skewer and keep new addicted consumers eating their products again and again.

I was interested in the huge increase in our consumption of UPF foods since 1980 but would have liked to see the difference from 1970 or 1960 because when I was a child growing up (in 60s) there was virtually no UPF foods in our home, all meals were cooked using fresh meat/fish, eggs, veg and fruit with some dried/tinned goods and no ready meals/takeaways. Eating out (or takeaways) was a very rare treat indeed and snacking between meals was frowned upon and not encouraged.

The representative from the food industry was, not surprisingly, reticent about their role in the deteriorating health of our nation's population. Nestle's success in infiltrating remote communities with their UPF-packed supermarket-boats and creating new addicted consumers (and an obesity epidemic) was an eye-opener but not at all surprising seeing as their role in exploiting breastfeeding mothers in third world countries is well known, too.

Anyway, did anyone watch it. What did you think?

It's called open food facts. Sorry I should have said that in my post!

@Pinkblueberry that's right, there isn't much nutritional value to bread. Or pasta or rice or cereals. They are carbs, just energy without vitamins etc. They will keep you alive, but that's about it.
If you replaced the bread/grains/cereals etc with healthy fats, vegetables and animal protein gram for gram the nutritional value is far better

I've just downloaded that app - thanks @CatherineCawood
Now I'm off to scan my cupboards and hopefully get answers to all the questions I posted!

Hmm, so that app tells me that my gherkins - which contain calcium chloride as the only non domestic kitchen ingredient, is UP.
Then it tells me that my tin of pears, which also contains calcium chloride as well as Citrix acid, is unprocessed.

So not sure it is reliable...

@TiddleTaddleTat wholegrain/brown rice, contains, fibre, selenium - good for warding off colon cancer - also contain magnesium, phenols and flavonoids, B6 & B1

I think wholegrain pasta similarly would keep more nutrition- I’m always puzzled why normal pasta is considered quite healthy while it is made from the same ingredient as white bread which isn’t

www.ocado.com/products/barilla-penne-rigate-301672011?ds_rl=1126321&ds_rl=1164972&ds_rl=1291426&vreg&gclid=Cj0KCQjw78yFBhCZARIsAOxgSx0Mfq7EuZDagmv9x21o4AjaEi79NfLWPNNka7oes79M4t4f4CL9IQIaAlluEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds durum wheat semolina and water to make pasta

white sliced hooves bread - mWheat Flour (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Yeast, Soya Flour, Salt, Preservative: E282, Emulsifiers: E472e, E471, E481, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid
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it'll be the chemicals that you wouldn't find in homemade bread

@Happyschool the above is my answer to your question, its not the same ingredients

@Happyschool I thinks it’s also because the way your body digests and uses the energy in pasta is very different to what happens with processed white bread. It has a very high gluten content and is actually considered a low release carb because of this - people do feel fuller for much longer on a fairly small portion. And it absorbs a huge amount of water when cooked which your digestive system needs to separate out again. For this reason among others I don’t think simply categorising food by how processed it is is such a great idea - it’s so simplistic and the way our body uses and reacts to different foods is so complex, it’s down to so much more than ingredients. I’d be interested to know what a dietician would make of the documentary - I didn’t watch the whole thing, so I don’t know if they interviewed one.

You gotta remember that gut health is everything. Everything. Compromise that, and you compromise your immune system.

Thank you. This is a really interesting thread as I do find food some important and really can impact our mood etc. And yes totally agree gut health can be key too- we’ve seen one DC’s anxiety vanish since taking regular probiotics combined with prebiotics from a good diet (lentils, fruit etc )

@Harrison234

You gotta remember that gut health is everything. Everything. Compromise that, and you compromise your immune system.

Exactly.

@Arbadacarba

Another child is allowed by parents to take the day off whenever we have outdoor learning (one day every other week) because they get tired/sore feet. Already obese

That's heartbreaking. If they are like this in childhood, what kind of adulthood awaits them? How narrow their world will become.

It is heartbreaking. We worry for him.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

I haven't yet rtft so apologise if this has been discussed already - am a bit confused about some items and which group they should be in.

So in theory I understand that tinned fruit, jarred gherkins etc should be in g3 as traditional preserving methods. But looking at the tins/jars in my cupboard both the tinned fruit and the jar of gherkins contain firming agent calcium chloride. Obviously I wouldn't have this in my kitchen so does this mean that they are actually g4?

Where does cream cheese sit - mine has thickener locust bean gum and carageenan (the latter I understand from a pp is a common ingredient in ROI so that one is ok (?) but the bean gum? Does that make it UP?

Pitted black olives in brine also contain stabiliser ferrous gluconate - does that make them UP?

Does palm oil alone make something UP? My cream crackers are flour, palm oil, salt, bicarbonate of soda, yeast. Are they ok?

Is all chocolate UP because it contain soya lecithin?

I assume that raising agents such as sodium carbonates and diphosphates will be the same as what is in domestic baking powder - is that right? My BP has no ingredients listing.

Is citric acid ok or not?

I get dried mango as a healthier snack option for the dc but it contain preservative sulphur dioxide. Does that make it UP?

Are cornflakes containing barley malt extract and pantothenic acid UP? The bbc article linked way upthread lists cornflake as a non-UP cereal?

In theory it should be simple but (perhaps I'm in denial or a bit dense) it doesn't seem that simple in practice.

I cannot realistically removal all UPF from my families diets but I'd like to understand so that I can bring it down to a much lower level.

My rule of thumb is to look at the ingredients and choose those that have the least number of added flavour enhancers or chemicals to extend shelf life, etc. They may cost a bit more, of course.

It is unrealistic to remove all UPFs but it is a start to look at labels first before putting items straight in the trolley. Also, to think of new ways to provide dinners, using slow cookers for example. I stick chicken thighs in slow cooker first thing before work on low, by tea time they are ready, just remove the bone (it just falls off) and no waste. Make into curry or fajitas, and drain off the stock to make a soup base for another meal option.

I guess it is all about thinking differently about how we nourish ourselves and keep ourselves healthy for the future. Clearly UPFs are not healthy options for our brains or bodies so need to be eaten selectively. They are cheap and convenient for the food manufacturers but sadly not for human health.

[quote TiddleTaddleTat]@Pinkblueberry that's right, there isn't much nutritional value to bread. Or pasta or rice or cereals. They are carbs, just energy without vitamins etc. They will keep you alive, but that's about it.
If you replaced the bread/grains/cereals etc with healthy fats, vegetables and animal protein gram for gram the nutritional value is far better [/quote]
I would agree with that. I made the switch five years ago. Do not regret it as I don't miss the bloating, indigestion and tooth decay. Healthy fats tend to be animal-based too (unrefined).

@Harrison234

You gotta remember that gut health is everything. Everything. Compromise that, and you compromise your immune system.

That's a good point and little understood. I'd like to learn more about it though.

@ivykaty44 yes wholegrain rice is far preferable to the white version but still a grain and can be problematic for digestion. Gram for gram nowhere near as rich as steamed green or other veg, animal protein, etc.

And yet wholegrain are listed amongst the list of foods that should make up our diet all the time. I wonder what gram for gram the energy comparison is. Children especially need carbs.

TiddleTaddleTat

It’s not an either or situation, you don’t have just the rice on a plate, you can eat the rice with vegetables and protein

What you state was no nutritional value, and it does have considerable nutritional value, which I listed.

Far better to be eating rice than deep fried potato

I was part of some large scale UK/ US twin research a couple of years ago, looking at personalised nutrition where they looked at the gut microbiome and how you responded to different foods. The outcome was essentially the more fibre and less processed, the better. Some people processed fats better than others, or carbs better, but we were given an app that has a scanner for foods. It then comes up with a score of "eat regularly"/ "eat occasionally"/ "once in a while". The point is, if most of your diet is un/ minimally processed, then it doesn't matter if you have the odd UPS.

That's good to know, thanks.

OP I would have thought the opposite to this Healthy fats tend to be animal-based too (unrefined).

In terms of saturated fats and cholesterol. I don’t know a huge amount about it though so I’d like to know more.

wholegrain rice is far preferable to the white version but still a grain and can be problematic for digestion. Gram for gram nowhere near as rich as steamed green or other veg, animal protein, etc.

@TiddleTaddleTat may be the the case for you but everyone’s body is different. I for one have never struggled to digest whole grains - a whole grain sourdough is probably the best things there is for my gut, better than any veg. Some people actually feel very bloated from certain vegetables. I’ve never felt bloated after eating rice, white or brown, it’s great work out food for me. As pp said it’s not an either/or situation - both grains and veg are a part of a healthy diet. Whole grains are a superior source of fibre to many fruit and veg.

And if we were doing a lot of physical work then the carbs would be vital. They are also essential for your organs and your brain function. Because of our comparatively sedentary lifestyles energy from food is not seen as so important anymore - but there’s a reason humanity has continued through bread and rice all these years. Try harvesting a field on a hot day after eating a chicken breast with steamed asparagus...
We definitely don’t need as many calories from grains as we used to, and I agree we should cut down and replace some with more veg, but that doesn’t mean we should lose them altogether and unless you have a genuine intolerance our guts are also still very much able to enjoy and thrive on them.

Children especially need carbs.

Absolutely, I think if you told your gp or health visitor that you were replacing all your children’s carbs with protein and veg they would be very concerned.

@Harrison234

You gotta remember that gut health is everything. Everything. Compromise that, and you compromise your immune system.

Agree. I understand that there is currently a lot of research going on in this area. I’m not a scientist but from what I have read, it’s very important for gut health to eat a wide variety of foods (non processed).

I think that the idea of ensuring you eat a “rainbow” of fruit and veg every day is really useful - make meals as colourful as possible.