1 Comment

This is very interesting.

Sorry in advance for all the asterisks, but there's no option for italics in this text box.

Having read Ultra Processed People, the evidence for the *associations* does seem compelling, but it seems the mainstream media is not able to pick up the nuance around this. I don't recall from the book if there was an emphasis around *association* rather than causation, so I may re-read looking for this specifically.

That said, one of the things I did take away from that book is the potential that the additional processing for taste and engineering to encourage consumption of certain foods seems to make them easier to eat in larger quantities than intended, thereby potentially making them more difficult to consume in moderation.

I have long shared the concern that these foods are often cheaper and easier to get and usually easier to prepare/eat, especially in food deserts and areas affected by poverty. It seems that more may need to be done to make fresher foods more accessible so that *everyone*, regardless of socioeconomic status, has the ability to *choose* how much they eat from every/any category of food. The food industry is significant, and the effect of lobbying is alarming. It would be nice to see the level of investment in ensuring corporate profits matched or exceeded by funding to make a greater variety of food available to everyone.

I'm interested to see how this particular concept evolves and how our understanding of diet and nutrition as they relate to long term health continues to grow.

Expand full comment