If we were having coffee I’d confess I had never really considered how our diet could impact health until I was diagnosed with gut issues and needed to drastically review my diet and lifestyle–I made some changes, but apparently not enough. By chance, I listened to an interview with Tim Spector, the co-founder of Zoe. This nutritional science company investigates how our biological responses to food are based on individual characteristics like the bacteria in our gut. Red flags were raised regarding how ultra-processed foods adversely affect our health. Who knew? WoW!
When dashing around the supermarket, I don’t always have time to study the labels, which list the ingredients in every product. This is especially true when they are in Portuguese, plus you need a magnifying glass to read them. Do you study the ingredients on labels?
What are Ultra-processed Foods, and HOW Do They Impact Our Health?
Before you dash off screaming blah de blah, blah, please listen to this short YouTube video, which offers a simple explanation.
A transformative new way of classifying foods 🍔🍕🍟 BBC
Want to know more? This offers more in-depth information
An American perspective.
My journey so far …
The transition is slow, but I enjoy researching different foods to better understand why I should include/exclude certain foods from our diet and experimenting with new recipes. Mr. Piglet has even started to bake bread again and creates his own muesli mix rather than eating the prepacked shop-bought varieties, which contain added sugar, etc. Have you ever studied the ingredients they put in breakfast cereals, especially those that target children? Holy moly …
Which brings me to the reason why we should always pay attention to labelling.
Christmas dinner disaster – thanks to…
Elmlea. I have bought this product for as long as I can remember, and when we came to Portugal, I was relieved I could still buy it to make cheesecakes and pour over our mince pies, Christmas puddings etc. But no more. I thought I was buying cream, but apparently, it’s not cream but a vegetarian alternative. That will teach me to read the label!
Our daughter used it to make a gratin dauphinoise to eat with our turkey on Christmas day but as the potatoes began to cook, there was an awful smell of melting plastic. A rancid smell. We checked the oven. All okay. Served up the dauphinoise potatoes and the smell … it was the Elmlea. The plastic smell was so intense we checked online for a product recall. Nothing. Then we read the list of ingredients: Buttermilk 69%, Vegetable Oils (Coconut, Rapeseed), Lactose, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids), Stabilizers (Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Carrageenan), Colour (Carotenes).
’nuff said … I am not a vegetarian, nor do I have a dairy intolerance, so I don’t need to eat this poop.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on ultra-processed foods. Do you eat them or avoid them? Do you study the ingredient labels before you buy?
While you are pondering on the horrors of plastic food why not pop over to Natalie’s Blog and check out the Weekend Coffee Share
Related Posts:
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How to Join the Foodie Friday Challenge Blog Hop
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Create a post about food, such as sharing your favourite recipes, growing fruit and vegetables, etc and include the tag: Foodie Friday. You’re welcome to use previous ‘food-related’ posts.
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tag #foodiefriday
Piglet in Portugal 
Thanks for all of the information. There’s so much junk in our food supply that it makes it difficult to stay healthy.
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Exactly. And foods that we believed to be healthy are actually not.
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My growing season is short, but I love growing my own food, since I know what went into it.
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Hi, Carole – I believe we are currently on similar food journeys. especially regarding ultra processed foods. For more years than I can remember, I have been labelled by friends and family as a “healthy eater” (so much so, friends recently came over for dinner and were surprised to see wine and meat (chicken) on our table). But labels can be very deceiving, and what foods are considered healthy and unhealthy keep changing over time (butter/margerine, dairy milk/nut milk, coffee, wine, meat patties/vegetarian patties…..etc, etc). No wonder our heads are often spinning regarding what foods are truly good for us, and which ones are dangerous longterm.
Thank you for including the above videos. I watched them all and found each to be very helpful.
Today, I finished reading ‘Ultra Processed People’ which I also highly recommend.
I will try to put my thoughts on this topic together enough to write about it for our February Wellness LinkUp.. Right now my head truly is spinning.
Thank you for this excellent post!
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Yep, all the advice and misinformation can leave us in a spin. For years they persuaded us products like benecol was healty for our heart when in fact it is a plastic food.o Same with all the low fat foods they encouraged us to eat but then they loaded it with sugar. I am fortunate that many of our local restaurnats use fresh ingredients. The food is simple.
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Hi Carole, I love the idea of Foodie Friday and your exploration into eating healthy and unprocessed foods. We keep processed foods to a minimum and eat whole foods as much as possible. Thanks for sharing the information and I will view the videos. xx
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Hi Sue, it is an interesting journey and the more I research the more I believe food is responsible for certain health issues. So much of what we buy has added sugar or salt. Colourings and flavour enhancers etc. The videos, especially ZOE has influenced the way I view food. Thanks for stopping by. We make the journey together.
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Yes I’ve been watching the ZOE videos and information. Over the last couple of years in particular we have really cut back on UP foods and eating more whole foods. I love to cook so it is easier to prepare food from scratch. I will definitely enjoy the journey together. Have a lovely weekend. x
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It is so true. Great job researching…a lot of it for me was learning how to use better ingredients and avoid as much processed things as possible. I’m certainly not 100% perfect at it, but leaps and bounds further than I ever have been. Oh no! on the Christmas disaster. Sometimes I look at the non this or that option and think the best option is to just not have it or eat the “real” thing. Just because something is labeled vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean it’s actually a better or healthier product. Great post.
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Hi Kirstin, thank you for stopping by. It is as you say learning to use better ingredients. The journey of knowledge is fascinating. I am with you on the veg and vegan options. At one time I thought I had a dairy intolerance and made oat milk because the cartons I looked at in the suprmarket wer loaded with added sugar etc.
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We stay away from ultra processed foods as much as possible, eating fresh fruit and vegetables every day, and cooking at home. Hubby makes bread a few times a week. There was a time that I was making my own yoghurt but I haven’t in a while – it was tastier that store bought and I at least knew what was in it.
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Hi Regina, thanks for stopping by. I’d love to make my own yogurt – was it difficult?
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As much as I want to virtually avoid UPF, I cannot live without Indomie, the instant noodles. It is already ingrained with my lifestyle. Well, it is not that I consume them daily. I hardly consume UPF snacks.
I do need to increase my activity level, and I am working on it!
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Yes, it can be difficult to avoid UPF. I also have certain foods that I am fond of. 🙂
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I avoid UPF. When I’m at home, I cook all my meals. I dine out only on special occasions or when I travel and don’t have access to a kitchen. Have you read Food Rules by Michael Pollan? It’s a short handbook that you may find useful. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
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Hi, thanks for the book recommendation, Natalie. I’ll look it up. Even though I love cooking trying a different healthy recipe each week is going to prove a challnge.
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Tim Spector is amazing so much of what he has researched and written should help us to live a healthy life. Living in Portugal you should have the Mediterranean diet ingredients to eat what is considered the healthiest diet.
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Hi Brian, yes, Tim is amazing and his advice, backed by science, should be the diet bible. Living in Portugal we have a good supply of fresh fish, meat and veg. Even the Portuguese baked bread is so good. It’s when we fall into the trap of buying crisps, snacks, cereals we come unstuck … I wish we could buy full fat cream here.
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So it was the stabilisers? What caused the smell? #TrafficJamReboot
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We have no idea what caused the smell. It was so wierd.We’ve never smelt anything like it. Just a shame it meant Christmas day sans spuds
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Great realizations, Piglet. I’m very happy to hear that you see UPF for what they are, food like substances (is how I’ve heard them described). I was lucky that my mom started on a organic cooperative grocery health food kick thirty years ago, which was very influential on me. Most of what I buy are raw fresh ingredients. I buy some frozen fruit and vegetables. We eat oatmeal for breakfast. (Confessions: We so eat crisps once a week. And local pizzas) I read labels constantly.
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Your mum was a wise woman. I wish I had done the same. But working full time and then dashing off to skating practices, while I did some cooking we lived on convenience foods and never gave it a thought providing everyone was fed.
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It’s a lot of time, pressure and expense to cook for a family on the go!
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I usually don´t eat ultra processed food. But it happens, trying to remember when it happened the last time… but can´t remember 🙂 So it´s rare. A very important change to make I believe, to avoid that. Good shout!
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You are also lucky to grow a lot of your own fruit and vegetables. Your harvests are amazing! 🙂
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Hi Carole. I’ve been a dedicated label reader for more years than I can remember. These days, I keep a little pair of reading glasses in my purse for that exact reason. We try to avoid ultra processed foods as much as possible. As a result, we dine out only on very special occasions. We try to get our veggies fresh from markets, and our meat (when at home) from local farmers. I make all of our baked goods including bread, so we don’t get a lot of preservatives in our food.
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You set a good example, Terry. Excellent idea to carry a spare pair of glasses in your purse.
I am impressed you bake all your own cakes and cookies etc. I must try and do the same, although we no longer eat much in the way of baked goods..
Eating out we are lucky that we have grills where all the meat and fish are fresh along with the salad or veg. Portuguese food can be rather basic.
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The more natural the food, the better.
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Yes, always 🙂
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