Ultra Processed Food

I’ve recently started cutting out ultra-processed foods after reading Ultra-Processed People, and today I really felt the difference while shopping.

At Waitrose (a UK supermarket, and not exactly a cheap one), I went looking for hummus. I checked the back of four different brands—every single one had rapeseed oil, stabilizers, or other additives. One even branded itself Extra Virgin Olive Oil Hummus… yet still listed rapeseed oil in the ingredients.

So I figured I’d make my own. I went to grab chickpeas, and even Waitrose’s own canned chickpeas had stabilizers. I finally found another brand—twice the price—that only had chickpeas and water.

Out of curiosity, I checked other products. I’ve been a bit obsessed with ice cream lately, since the book talks about it in detail. Not one of the five or so brands I looked at had just natural ingredients. Even the “cleanest” options had a long list of things I wouldn’t use at home.