Ultra-Processed People

Youve got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page and think about it for the rest of the week -- Chris Evans A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why -- Adam Rutherford If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one. It will not only change the way you eat but the way you think about food. And it does all this without a hint of finger-wagging or body shaming. I came away feeling so much better informed about every aspect of ultra-processed food, from the way it affects the microbes in our gut to why it is so profitable to produce to why it's so hard to eat only a single bowl of Coco Pops to why any food that is marketed as 'better for you' is almost certainly not. -- Bee Wilson A wonderful and fascinating expos of ultra-processed food, edible substances with strange sounding ingredients which are manufactured by some of the wealthiest companies on the planet and which, worryingly, form an increasing part of our diet. As Chris shows, not only have these foods been formulated to ensure that we eat them constantly and without thought, but they hijack our ability to regulate what we eat, primarily by affecting our brains. And he backs up his claims with a powerful self-experiment, along with lots of rigorous and often shocking research. Reading this book will make you question what you eat and how it was produced -- Dr. Michael Mosley * BBC presenter and bestselling author of The Fast Diet * Packed with "I never knew that" moments, Ultra-Processed People is a wonderfully playful book that changed forever how I think about what I eat and why -- Hannah Fry Everyone needs to know this stuff -- Tim Spector, author of SPOON FED and FOOD FOR LIFE An engrossing, infuriating read. Ultra-Processed People makes most fictional villains look quaint. Read it and fight back! -- Rob Delaney A much-needed, eye-opening expos. Beautifully written, each page reveals hidden truths and asks you to re-think and re-connect to food in a way that has been lost for decades. Truly mind-blowing! -- Megan McCubbin The past 10 years has seen an inflection point in human history, where more people in the world are now dying of eating too much, than of eating too little. This urgent and captivating read digs deep into one of the huge reasons, the rise and rise of ultra-processed food' -- Giles Yeo A fascinating, forensically researched and ultimately terrifying expose of the food we consume. Van Tulleken leaves no stone unturned, shining his spotlight into the dark corners of what masquerades as nutrition these days. Read it; your diet will never be the same again! -- Mariella Frostrup A totally fascinating book which put me right off my Doritos -- Marina Hyde Incendiary and infuriating, this book is a diet grenade, the bold and brutal truth about how we are fed deadly delights by very greedy, evil giants -- Chris Packham Fascinating, but frankly horrifying investigation into our industrialised food system -- Ben Spencer * The Times * A book everyone who cares about their health should read * Daily Mail * It'll change what you eat . . . an unsettling examination of the food we eat and the industrial system that makes it -- Ben Spencer * The Times * A fearless investigation into how we have become hooked on ultra-processed food . . . will have you scurrying to your cupboards -- Anjana Ahuja * Financial Times * It will change the way you think about food profoundly * Country and Townhouse * Has completely changed my eating habits, which will therefore change my life -- Charlotte Church In Ultra-Processed People, a persuasive mix of analysis and commentary, [Chris van Tulleken] shows how [ultra-processed] foods affect our bodies and how their popularity stems in part from shady marketing and slanted science -- Matthew Rees * Wall Street Journal * A tour of how the science of processing has allowed companies to produce goods

Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London where he is an Associate Professor. His research focuses on how corporations affect human health especially in the context of child nutrition and he works with UNICEF and The World Health Organisation on this area. As one of the BBC's leading broadcasters for children and adults his work has won two BAFTAs. He lives in London with his wife and two children.