Chris van Tulleken

Every cell in the human body is a potential virus factory

Stabilisers, emulsifiers, gums, lecithin, glucose, a number of different oils ... these are the hallmarks of UPF.

xanthan gum, guar gum, emulsifiers and glycerine

The gums, glycerine and emulsifiers all stop ice crystals forming by holding water close to them.

Some ultra-processed foods may activate the brain reward system in a way that is similar to what happens when people use drugs like alcohol, or even nicotine or morphine

The crux of the matter is the ninth criterion: ‘Use of the substance is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance

As we’ll see, softness and speed of consumption are defining characteristics of UPF compared with real food

achieved with smoking decades ago. It allows the affected person to focus outwards on the industry causing the harm (something we know is helpful in addiction), rather than inwards on personal failure

Softness is one of the characteristics that Kevin Hall identified as a near universal quality of UPF.

the signals that tell you to ‘stop eating’ haven’t evolved to handle food this soft and easily digested, so soft that it’s essentially pre-chewed