Ultra-Processed People

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

This audiobook contains exclusive bonus content between Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken, where they deep-dive into what you've just listened to at the end of each part.


An eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and production of ultra-processed food.

It's not you, it's the food.

We have entered a new 'age of eating' where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it's doing to our bodies?

Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what's really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can't save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).

For too long we've been told we just need to make different choices, when really we're living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.

©2023 Chris van Tulleken (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

A brilliant book . . . a real eye-opener. The bottom line is that if we keep consuming sugar, salt and fat on the scale that we currently do, it is going to cost all of us an unconscionable fortune in the future.

James O'Brien

You’ve 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 exposé 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

BBC presenter and bestselling author of The Fast Diet

User Reviews

Book 4.7
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
sarah456 30/01/2024
5.0
5.0
Chris is very talented to collate, write and READ so well. This is a subject dear to my heart. I listened to every word, some of it twice. I'm a lazy cook, live on my own, am over 70 and overweight. This is not the only thing that has revolutionised my eating and health but has made me see those tempting shelf-fulls of upf for what they are. Avoid upf, batch cook, 30 plants a week, cut out sugar, eat nuts. I've lost a bit of weight, but that's not what this is about. I plan to be around for decades yet, this book helps.
Phinna B 26/11/2023
5.0
5.0
Andrew Thomas 16/02/2024
4.0
5.0
Tdk 26/06/2023
5.0
5.0
Brilliant and insightful
suzannemarston 06/06/2024
5.0
5.0
Really interesting and insightful read.
Changed the way I think about food and opened my eyes to some of the trickery used by the industry.
Hopefully the lessons learned will help to improve my relationship with food and control cravings and snacking by making better choices.
nixon_26 06/12/2023
5.0
5.0
flosta 20/08/2024
5.0
5.0
bornski 31/01/2024
4.0
5.0
Although I found some of the sciency jargon tricky to get my head around (I intend going back and listening to some bits again) this book was a really good read. Without being doctoral or condescending Chris the author gives lots of food for thought and I now certainly think twice now before putting food in my mouth and choosing from a menu.

Lel 25/08/2024
4.0
5.0
Really informative and insightful, it made me rethink my relationship to food
raquelboso 13/05/2023
4.0
5.0
gabe 28/09/2024
5.0
5.0
Excellent!
terry stevens 23/09/2024
5.0
5.0
This audio book is a must-listen if you want to understand what you are heavily encouraged to eat and how it is leaving you craving for more. Itu2019s one of those rare books that can transform your understanding of a key issue and can be a catalyst for a food revolution. The audio recording is a pleasure to listen to despite all the uncomfortable truths it contains than to Chris van Tullekenu2019s warmth and honesty about his own struggles with UPF.
amandine alexandre 21/04/2024

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