It’s hard to look at a packet of chocolate biscuits now without the words ‘ultra-processed food’ (UPF) flashing through your brain.
You might even be putting them back on the supermarket shelf when you realise half the ingredients are pure gobbledegook, a confusing blur of additives, emulsifiers, preservatives, and flavour enhancers, none of which resemble any real ingredients you could buy individually.
UPFs “are industrially processed foods and contain ingredients that aren’t typically used in home kitchens,” explains food writer and registered nutritionist Delicia Bale.
“They’re also normally high in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and low in fibre and micronutrients. In research, they have been described as ‘hyper palatable’ — they’re designed to be over-consumed.”
That’s why,…