{10.4} What the Heck is Ultra Processed Food and What Should I Do About It?

How much choice do you really have over what you eat and what you buy for food? Although I've always had an awareness of the importance of eating food tha thas been minimally processed, ideally cooked from scratch, I hadn't considered the role that marketing, advertising and packaging plays in making a food impossible to resist and stop consuming. 

In this episode of Raising Healthy Mothers I take a fresh look at ultra processed food thorugh the lens of the intention of the food as well as the ingredients in it that make it ultra processed. 

In the episode I talk about...

• What is a UPF?
• How to recognise and spot a UPF
• The top 3 UPF shockers you're probably buying on a regular basis
• How to reduce UPF without losing your mind
• Why you shouldn't become obsessive about it

I think that final point is key - there is so much more to food than the individual ingredients in it, and we are at risk of becoming obsessive over something that should bring us joy. This is one of those episodes straight from my heart because it's an issue I've grappled with over the years to various degrees.   Resources mentioned:

• Ultra Processed People: Why do we all eat stuff that isn't food... and why can't we stop? by Chris van Tulleken (affiliate link)
• Episode 8.1: 5 Steps to Read Food Labels for Healthy Eating
• Reducing Ultra Processed Food UK Facebook group
• The Nova Scale and the Open Food Facts app 
• Yuka app 
• Ultra processed food in baby and toddler food: Report by First Step Nutrition

Connect with me: 

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