I’ve gone non UPF, I just can’t believe the difference it’s made in a week

[LaurieFairyCake]

I feel like such an idiot. I can’t believe how well I feel, how much I’m ready for bed and how much better I sleep.

this shit is radical. I was eating 40% upf (a teenagers diet is 80% 😱) and I feel brand new.

i have zero pain in my joints, during the day loads of good energy

does anyone else do this ?

The point is to avoid nova group 4, ULTRA processed foods.

You're confused.

Fermented food like yoghurt and kimchi are excellent for gut health.
They are cultured, not ultra processed.

Yoghurt is made with live bacteria to make milk thicker.

It's not processed or UPF.

If you have a small intake, buying a prepping food often leads to food waste or eating the same thing day in, day out. Ive just finished chopping 2 peppers, green and red. Those peppers have been in the fridge for ages going in various dishes. Ive topped up my salad that will take me a week to get through now. Its nice, but I often end up with food fatigue. Although I dont buy food ready made, I completely understand why people do. If you're single and eat small amounts but need parsley basil and chives for a salad, even multiple salads over a few days, you're simply not going to get through all that.

I like my salads to contain a huge number of different ingredients, my chickpea salad this week is peppers green and red, red onion, pumpkin seeds, sund dried tomato, fresh tomato, red pepper paste, cumin, paprika, capers, chickpeas, olive oil. But 2 peppers and a tin of chickepas is more that I can get through in a couple of meals so I end up eating it morning noon and night. Next week will be something different.

I think countries that went through industrialisation earlier (i.e. the US and UK) developed a convenience food culture sooner, so for many of us our grandparents also ate a lot of junk. Although my Nanna cooked evening meals from scratch, it was pretty plain and lacking in green vegetables. I expect your home country is one with a climate where they can easily grow lots of things?

@MsDDxx The yoghurts that are bordering on UPFs are the ones with added thickeners or emulsifiers, sugar and fruit puree.

He doesn't approve of supplements these days apparently but is very happy to sell us his seed mixture for a 1000% mark up!

Bottled smoothies are crap. Don't buy them. I know what you're saying about the fruit and how it's prepared in a smoothie. I do get all the fibre with it, since I am blending the whole fruit. I aren't much of a fruit person, so I think it has benefits for me, and I'm not diabetic. I don't usually use honey either, so that's not normally in there. I do often put spinach in and will add that when I make the smoothie if I remember. Sometimes oats. Obviously I have made a tropical smoothie this time. I usually go for banana/orange/cocoa or banana/apple/cocoa type combos. Sometimes with oats. Can't have too many oats though.

I do lack ideas for other make ahead breakfasts that are dairy and gluten free. A lot of gluten free options that you can buy have additives I don't want. I suppose I could do eggs and a whole piece of fruit. I do sometimes have eggs for breakfast but not sure I should do that every day.

Yes, this is the ingredients list in the 35 plant salad, I’m not buying and making that. Too expensive and loads would get wasted.

A great fan of Tim - a serious scientist - but there is a danger of this going the wrong way through products and commercialisation. Sadly, Zoe as a start up is still not making money so this move to sell products has come along.

Whats your point?

The use of supplements is linked to a huge increase in the incidence of drug-induced liver injury so that's wise advice.

Are you actually diagnosed by an immunologist as needing to be dairy and gluten free?

It's a hard way to live (been there, got the T shirt) and stopped it. Very hard to get enough calcium by being 100% dairy free and can have long term issues.

I started this 4 years ago, well more of an anti inflammatory diet, everything cooked from scratch. Immediately noticed a much sharper mind/clarity, better mood, better gut health. We are absolutely what we eat.

I dont know who Jessie thingy is, but this is quite a European thing for 'digestion', they eat vegetables/salads prior to the meal, not with the meal (generally speaking) to aid digestion. I dont know if its just an old wives tale.

Really I didn't know that. I have nafld currently. I take magnesium but have taken vit D and 12 for a while and was considering a multivitamin as I have days I struggle to eat currently.

Diet as per my gastroenterologist (though the gluten free is an add on from me because I know it makes a difference for me). I'm allowed a yoghurt a day but it does give me a sore stomach, so I don't. Otherwise dairy free. Not allowed seeds either, which are perfectly healthy, and a range of other healthy options aren't allowed either. Like, no celery or leeks.

It keeps me medication free and I'd like to stay that way. The medication will be more harmful than being a bit short on dairy. I'm not a baby cow anyway.

You're not eating the whole fruit if you're blending it, you lose the benefits of the fibre by having them in a smoothie, so they will be spiking your glucose more than if you ate them whole. Also they're all very sweet, tropical fruits, and raw honey is no different metabolically from sugar.

Our typical daily diet which I am sure NO one will want to follow as it is atypical but we like:

Breakfast: Usually eggs or greek yoghurt with fruit. Dosas or idlis on weekend. ( pl Google)
Both these are naturally fermented non UPF without having to buy anything expensive or Zoe.

Lunch: Often leftovers so anything from some type of daal or chickpea or kidney bean curry with rotis and a vegetable. Or a salad of some kind with at least 3 veg. Or a stirfry with some 5 veg. Or a paneer dish for protein. Or grilled vegetables like eggplant or squash or peppers.

Dinner: Similar to lunch. Used to be a rice dish with veggies and the kids still eat the rice but DH and I try to eat only veggies and protein. Things like paneer, alu gobi, airfryer eggplant, stirfries,grilled veggies, egg curry etc.

Snacks: nuts, hummus and cheese with v occasionally chocolate or crisps.

https://scrummylane.com/5-minute-chocolate-pots-only-4-ingredients/

I find that how much it sets varies a lot depending on the chocolate you use and how long you whip it. Dark chocolate seems safest. Milk chocolate goes a bit weird sometimes when adding water if it's normal supermarket chocolate. I tried a high quality non-upf milk chocolate couverture once and it didn't set at all, so we used it as fondue. They were all delicious though!

If you want mayo and tomato ketchup still, try the Hunter & Gather ones - no added sugar and simple ingredients. The avocado-based mayo is great (not the olive oil one though): https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/

In case you're interested. The FDA is currently gathering data on this so we'll have a clearer picture soon, but the same pattern is starting to emerge in Europe as well:
www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/supplements-drug-induced-liver-damage-toxic-hepatitis-what-know-rcna208390

Black beans in a can - not ideal

lol

This is what this UPF obsession leads to, utter stupidity.

Cans=not ideal

That's just what I chose to make up for the next two days. I usually favour cocoa based smoothies but that might be a bit weird with tropical fruit. I'm not really sure what else to have for breakfast with dietary restrictions either.

Cans are lined with plastic and heat treated. Not ideal. Even my gastroenterologist doesn't want me to use canned goods, as specifically listed on the diet I was given, but sometimes I do take short cuts.

I have 90% Lindt dark chocolate. It's so rich you can't eat a bar in a day, I usually find it lasts me 4-6 days. It's lush.