Ultra-processed foods (or UPFs) have become anathema for some people. From pre-packaged bread to breakfast cereals and flavoured yoghurts, there has been growing exposure of the industrial ingredients and processes that go into creating them and a growing consensus among scientists that they may be harming our health in ways we don’t yet fully understand. Despite this, they still make up a massive proportion (60% according to estimates) of what we eat.
The NHS defines ultra-processed foods as those which often "include ingredients you would not usually have at home, such as preservatives, sweeteners and emulsifiers". It says many are "high in calories, saturated fat, salt or sugar". But new research released today claims that there is a big difference in the extent of the harm, if any, being done by different processed and ultra-processed foods — and that some may even be good for us on balance.
And this research comes from the very scientists who have been at the forefront of spreading the message of the dangers UPFs are doing to our health. Today, science and nutrition firm Zoe, which is led by Professor Tim Spector, says we shouldn’t lump all processed foods in the same basket and that while some remain “high risk” for our health if eaten excessively others are “low risk” or even no risk at all. In an exclusive interview with The Express, Professor Spector, who is often described as one of the world’s most-cited scientists and who was instrumental in our un.
