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Telly addicts

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

445 replies

MarchXX · 28/05/2021 06:08

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?

OP posts:
TiddleTaddleTat · 31/05/2021 08:30

Someone was asking about knowing more about nutrition for gut health, this book is really comprehensive on nutrition Digestive Health with REAL Food g.co/kgs/mFeqN4

@ivykaty44 Of course it's never either or, I didn't say grains have no nutritional value I said not much. They should be a minor not major part of the diet but for many they are dominant in bread, pasta, cereal etc.

The book above goes into lots of detail about why grains are problematic for the gut.

JumpLeadsForTwo · 31/05/2021 08:36

@Harrison234

You gotta remember that gut health is everything. Everything. Compromise that, and you compromise your immune system.
The latest advice is to eat 30 different plants/ week for optimum gut health (along with minimal UPF.) this may sound a lot, but includes fruit, veg, nuts, seeds and herbs, so is doable for the majority.
TiddleTaddleTat · 31/05/2021 08:51

This is a good comparison of grain and grain free nutrition from the book I've linked to below.
Honestly can't recommend it enough.

Did anyone watch "What are we feeding our kids?" on BBC1
Fitforforty · 31/05/2021 12:51

@lazylinguist

I haven't seen it, but am currently trying to reduce the amount of UPF we eat. Yy to wraps being bad. I made a batch of homemade ones the other day. Pretty easy and actually tasted of real food!
@lazylinguist do you have a recipe?
lazylinguist · 31/05/2021 16:59

Yes - here it is.

AlohaMolly · 31/05/2021 21:21

So...

Talk to me about breakfasts for someone with a gluten intolerance that doesn’t like eggs or tomatoes. So far I’ve come up with porridge and yoghurt with honey and fruit and nuts.

AlohaMolly · 31/05/2021 21:25

It’s really starting to bother me actually. PIL had DS overnight and he had sausage and chips for dinner, bacon sandwich for breakfast, cheese on toast for lunch, two ice creams and some gluten free biscuits. They had a barbecue for dinner and we ate in the garden when we picked him up. They served burgers, sausages, chicken wings, bread buns and some chopped up lettuce. It makes me want to cry when I think about all of that in his little body. And he didn’t eat the lettuce!

TrashKitten10 · 31/05/2021 21:58

@AlohaMolly What about potato rosti? Or something in the style of kedgeree but without the eggs? But remember there are no rules around what makes a food 'breakfast food' and if you're working with difficult food preferences/intolerances it might be easier to think a bit outside the box. I've never been a fan of breakfast and my mum said I was such a nightmare to feed and she just started giving me lunch and dinner food for breakfast instead. She still recalls the time we discussed our breakfast at school and amongst all the toast and cereal I announced I'd had a tuna jacket potato Grin

I really enjoyed the programme and it made me think a lot about how we've slipped into some bad habits with food. 19mo DD was BLW on (what I would describe as) really wholesome foods but recently I've been leaning more and more on crackers, potato waffles, brioche rolls and other carby crap. Sometimes as part of a meal to fill her up and sometimes as a snack to keep her quiet and still for a minute Blush I really want to change this though and try to get back to feeding more nourishing food before she gets too set on eating these processed foods everyday. And also with carby crap available DH comes home and snacks on it all too. So this weekend I tried making a few healthier bits that would work for snacks and lunches. Savoury cheesy flapjacks I loved but nobody else liked but curried lentil bake went down better with everybody. It's bloody time consuming though making a lentil bake instead of opening a box of ritz crackers. I think I need to have a rummage around in the freezer and try to free up some space for some batch baking so I'm not just constantly cooking.

TheoMeo · 01/06/2021 06:40

Surely just water biscuits - Carrs plain crackers - with a slice of cheese is pretty unprocessed.
Anything that is greasy with salt and cheesy, or some other, flavouring is obviously not good.
Oatcakes is another which is usually quite additive free.

TheoMeo · 01/06/2021 06:44

Salads are not quick to eat imv.
Hence scoffing a slice of pizza gives instant gratification whereas you have to get through quite a bit of salad for that full feeling.
Possibly we don't spend enough time at the table at meal times so salad is a nuisance when we can just scoff and go with other foods.

BessMarvin · 01/06/2021 06:47

It's prep time that gets me. I'd happily eat massive lovely salads for lunch if someone would just come to my house and make them for me.

ufucoffee · 01/06/2021 08:29

@AlohaMolly that's not going to harm your child. They are talking about when people eat these foods regularly. That's when it's dangerous

Pinkblueberry · 01/06/2021 08:56

It makes me want to cry when I think about all of that in his little body. And he didn’t eat the lettuce!

@AlohaMolly I don’t think a weekend of indulgence within an otherwise healthy diet has ever caused major harm (or minor) - your over the top reaction to a weekend of indulgence is definitely not healthy though.

JustDanceAddict · 01/06/2021 09:04

I try to buy brown pasta & rice as much as possible - def more fibrous and filling.
I also make bread in my breadmaker - 70% wholemeal just cos 100% is a bit brick-like when you make it at home.
Tbh I could prob live in limited grains (maybe not pasta 😂), but not DS and DH, they need the calories (I need about1000 a day less than those two over 6 footers!).

Arbadacarba · 01/06/2021 09:06

@AlohaMolly

It’s really starting to bother me actually. PIL had DS overnight and he had sausage and chips for dinner, bacon sandwich for breakfast, cheese on toast for lunch, two ice creams and some gluten free biscuits. They had a barbecue for dinner and we ate in the garden when we picked him up. They served burgers, sausages, chicken wings, bread buns and some chopped up lettuce. It makes me want to cry when I think about all of that in his little body. And he didn’t eat the lettuce!
Chips - if home-made are OK. Bought will depend on type. Bacon - only medium processed (curing) Cheese - only medium processed (fermented) Lettuce - unprocessed (although he didn't eat it) Bread - depends on type.

Sausages, burgers, ice-cream and chicken wings likely to be UPFs if they came out of a packet rather than being home-made. But this is a couple of days away from home - if your DS has a healthy diet at home, it's not a problem. The 80s ratio that was touted as OK included some UPFS, but the ratio was small compared to unprocessed foods.

MarchXX · 01/06/2021 17:30

When I decided to try eating low carb and no UPFs five years ago I realised that I would have to learn to love cooking, something I had hereto done very little of Hmm. It wasn't a happy thought.

It also meant learning to plan menus for the week ahead, batch cooking dishes for the freezer and learning to make my own sausages and burgers (because at the time I couldn't find any that didn't contain grains and other fillers).

I had to change my attitude to nutrition and food completely around. No longer seeing food solely as a pleasure or indulgence but thinking about the actual nutritional benefits to me and how it would affect my body. I have not regretted making the change because my health has blossomed beyond belief, particularly mental and emotional health - that's been a real game changer.

I was so happy to see the programme highlighting the insidious way that UPFs have infiltrated our diet and the very heart of daily living, now forming the majority of daily calories. The effect on our young people is dire and thank heavens we are talking about it at last.

OP posts:
HeyGirlHeyBoy · 04/06/2021 06:46

Out of interest checked the lasagna pack last night. Semolina durum wheat is the only ingredient.. Minimal number should mean not so awful, right. (It was delicious!) And I did get two meals out of the small tray of organic mince, and still had leftovers!

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 04/06/2021 07:21

Dried pasta is not ultra processed, which is a relief. It's actually pretty surprising some of the things which are and which aren't. Cream crackers for eg are not, which surprised me massively.

HeyGirlHeyBoy · 04/06/2021 07:28

Ah yeah I knew cream crackers were very basic, not exactly nourishing but grand atst. Apart from Greek yoghurt full fat, which seems undetermined in above posts, I've had no UPFs this week. Really interesting to keep an eye on it. I've improved the dc's lunches too. Family dinners fine.

Fluffycloudland77 · 04/06/2021 08:41

@HeyGirlHeyBoy even smart price pasta is 100% Duram wheat.

I buy wholemeal now for me.

SayHelloBody · 04/06/2021 09:27

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BewareTheBeardedDragon · 04/06/2021 09:53

I was pleasantly surprised to find that pizza express margarita pizza (from the supermarket) does not appear to be UP.

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 04/06/2021 09:59

The programme only mentioned non-domestic kitchen ingredients as identifiers of UP but various internet sources state that more than 5 ingredients means something is UP. I don't really see why this should be the case - I'm not sure that some sources aren't lumping processed and ultra processed into the same category?
For instance why would pickled veg, with various natural flavourings, made in a traditional way either at home or in a factory be UP just because it has lots of herbs/spices added?

JumpLeadsForTwo · 04/06/2021 14:20

That's why I'd go on whether I recognise the ingredients- will happily eat something with 10 ingredients if they are butter/ herbs - recognisable etc over something with 2 ingredients, 1 being a chemically derived ingredient.

ButterflyOfFreedom · 04/06/2021 18:58

What about something like frozen chips?
Just checked the packet on ours and the ingredients are potato and sunflower oil... but they must be ultra processed surely?