I had some great feedback on my last substack about UPF, so thank you very much for that. Here is a slightly more controversial piece on fat activism and UPF, which I almost never see discussed around this issue
I try to stay away from highly processed food and eat healthy. Vitamins are part of that lifestyle too. But then I looked at my vitamin labels and realized it takes a whole lot of processing to create vitamins. Now I’m considering removing those from my diet. What do you think? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
If you are working on an app or product related to UPF, this is the place to seek the community's feedback on your ideas.
This post goes live every month on the 15th and will be sticked for 7 days. All other posts conducting market research will be removed by mods. Comments on this post that are unrelated to ultra processed food will also be removed, at mod discretion.
Hi! My breastfed baby is 15 months, and has a suspected dairy allergy.
I'm looking for an alternative milk that is fortified but doesn't have sugar / additives etc to have occasionally when I'm away from him.
Ideally soy, and not rice based, but all the fortified versions have a load of crap in them - even those targeted at toddlers ?!! Does anyone have any suggestions that they use? In the UK.
Ive been working on cutting UPFs out of my life. The only issue is that I really like sausage. It’s difficult for me to give up. I can’t eat pork anyway because it causes my gout to flare up.
Anyway my question is. I buy this chicken sausage and I was wondering if this was just processed instead of ultra processed. The ingredients list isn’t a novel and I know what everything on that list is.
My question is, do you guys think this is just processed food and would it be ok for someone trying to give up UPFs? I don’t eat a ton of meat anyway.
Hello everybody - I thought you may all enjoy my latest piece on UPF:
I actually started this subreddit back in 2023 (I don't know why I chose coco pops at the icon!) but I find the discourse around UPF online to be very frustrating - often circular, often pedantic, often attracts those struggling with eating disorders. I found policing this sub to be hard, though clearly more capable moderators have stepped in in my stead.
Anyway, I find online discourse hard, so I'm shifting to this longer-form writing which I hope can bring some nuance to the subject. I think you'll all know most of the theory in here, but you may enjoy hearing my story around UPF and why discovering it has altered the course of my life.
Hiya I was wondering if anyone knows any good snacks foods from Aldi or Lidl uk in terms of “junk “ type food aka Ice cream, crisps, chocolate etc , chips even, , but still being not ultra processed aka just a few ingredients
Thanks
i’ve recently been told i very likely have coeliacs so will need to avoid gluten after i’ve had all the tests (my blood marker was over 30x what would be considered suggestive of a diagnosis). bread is something i have regularly but lots of the GF breads i’ve seen have huge amounts of ultra processed ingredients - i know xanthan gum is used as a binding agent in place of gluten but i don’t want that in my body. i don’t have the time or energy to start making my own bread, does anyone have any recs for non UPF, GF bread that doesnt have the texture of cardboard? i’m UK based
Not Greggs, yep Simmons. I thought that because Simmons is fancy and posh especially with all their massive fancy breads and pastries etc and stuff they flamboyantly put on show, that the sausage rolls only have 4 core ingredients. Yet its no better than Greggs, and greggs is AWFUL.
I'm a chef in the UK (28 years in kitchens). At home we try to keep most of the week low-UPF, but school holidays and long walks destroy the plan. Kids are suddenly starving, the only options in the café are bars and crisps, and the "healthy" multipacks in the supermarket are often the worst offenders once you read the back.
What has worked for us (not perfect, just practical):
Things I personally side-eye on the shelf (UK): a lot of "veg" crisps, fruit winders-style sweets, cereal bars with a health halo, and anything where sugar/oils/emulsifiers dominate the ingredients list even if the front says wholegrain or protein.
Curious what actually works for other UK families on walks and days out. Especially anything that doesn't need a fridge for 3-4 hours.
(Not looking for perfection. Looking for "good enough that we leave the house without a meltdown.")
Fruit that travels
Apples, clementines, bananas if you're eating soon. Boring, but they win.
Cheese + something crunchy you control
A block of proper cheese cut at home + plain oatcakes or rice cakes with a short ingredient list. Not the coated kids cheese strings if the list is a novel.
Homemade "bars" that aren't bars
Overnight oats set in a tub, or a simple flapjack you baked: oats, butter, a bit of honey or maple, dried fruit. You know every ingredient. Slice and wrap.
Hummus or yoghurt pots + veg sticks
Only if you've got a cool bag. Carrot, cucumber, pepper. Kids demolish these when they're actually hungry.
Popcorn you popped yourself
Corn + oil + salt. Bags of microwave "butter" flavour are a different animal.
Nuts/seeds if age-appropriate and school rules allow
Portion into small pots so they don't inhale the whole bag.