Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Ultra-processed foods usually contain ingredients that you wouldn’t add when cooking homemade food. You may not recognise the names of these ingredients as many will be chemicals, colourings, sweeteners and preservatives. The most commonly eaten ultra-processed foods in the UK are:

Industrialised bread (11%)
Pre-packaged meals (7.7%)
Breakfast cereals (4.4%)
Sausages and other reconstituted meat products (3.8%)

These are closely followed by the expected confectionery (3.5%), biscuits (3.5%), pastries, buns and cakes (3.3%) and industrial chips (2.8%). Soft drinks, fruit drinks and fruit juices make up 2.5% of the average calorie intake. Salty snacks, including Britain’s beloved crisps, make up 2% of our calories, as do sauces, dressings and the Sunday favourite, gravy (2.1%).

More surprising to some will be what is included in the 3% of calories that the average person eats from “other ultra-processed foods”. This includes baked beans, tinned soups, meat alternatives, soy and drinks used as dairy milk substitutes.

It can be tricky to identify food that has been ultra-processed because in some cases the same type of food could be minimally processed, processed or ultra-processed, depending on how it’s been made. For example:

Bread made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast is processed, but add emulsifiers or colourings and it becomes ultra-processed.
Plain oats, corn flakes and shredded wheat are minimally processed, but when the manufacturer adds sugar, flavourings or colourings, they become ultra-processed breakfast cereals.
Plain yoghurt is minimally processed, but add sweeteners, preservatives, stabilisers or colourings and it becomes ultra-processed.

When food has been processed, studies show that the nutrient availability in the small intestine is affected. This is because the plant properties and animal cells have been altered. Issues arise when ultra-processed foods begin replacing unprocessed and minimally processed foods, which contain vital nutrients, in your diet. A whopping 56% of the calories that the average person in the UK eats come from ultra-processed foods.

Proposition Joe wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:02 pm Looked into this a while ago and it was too depressing. Would love to be able to only buy small batch sourdough but cost of living crisis says no, so supermarket bread is the way to go. That said, the way it stays 'fresh' for f*cking weeks compared to some of the pittas and flatbreads we get from the local Turkish shop which go mouldy in about 72 hours is definitely alarming. Really don't want to know what goes in it.

Nothing wrong with porridge though. Get onto overnight oats with pinhead oats - gamechanger.

Proposition Joe wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:17 pm https://www.wellplated.com/overnight-st ... ts-recipe/

EliotNes wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:55 pm I've eaten all sorts in my lifetime when I've been working/holidaying overseas, sometimes I wonder how I've survived, especially after whatever I ate in Singapore one time put me into the ICU in hospital for a week - they never did find out the cause - and I'll carry on doing the same. Live life to the full

Seriously, Mrs NES tries to get more healthy food into our meals at home, with varying degrees of success.

Proposition Joe wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:19 pm What's Skippy?

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:43 pm

Proposition Joe wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:19 pm What's Skippy?

Peanut butter

BIGRON wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:26 pm Visited Singapore a few years ago for a 3 night stop off to Australia , ate every meal in some king of street market , best food ever and no repercussions

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:30 pm What?

Proposition Joe wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:32 pm Were these your bog standard oats or your pinhead ones? Nothing wrong with the former but the latter are

Hoover Attack wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:40 pm

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:30 pm What?

Why is peanut butter called skippy? Never heard that before and cant see the link.