Even Dr Chris van Tulleken eats ultra-processed food on Christmas Day
Dr Chris van Tulleken, author of the bestselling book Ultra-Processed People – an exploration of how the food industry makes products filled with ‘more-ish’ artificial ingredients, specifically engineered to drive overeating – is perhaps the last person you’d expect to see tucking into an ultra-processed bowl of ready-made pigs in blankets over Christmas lunch.
But, in a recent interview with The Times, Dr Van Tulleken's top advice is to: ‘Go to the supermarket of your choice, get everything in foil, take it out of the foil and put it in the oven. Have a very merry processed Christmas’.
Festive exceptions
Surprised? Us too. The man who has changed the way so many of us think about our diet – and recommends cook-from-scratch dinners over ready meals – is, apparently, giving us the green flag to eat anything pre-prepped in foil from the supermarket.
‘It’s the one day of the year when you can spend a bit of meaningful time with the people you love,’ he tells The Times. ‘You don’t want to spend it in the kitchen.’
While Van Tulleken didn’t initially aim to be a campaigner, the publication (and success) of Ultra-Processed People has made him a leading voice in the growing movement to regulate our overly processed food industry. His research has transformed his life, shaping not just how he eats and lives, but his family's diet, too.
When he started promoting his book in April 2023, he says he would show journalists ‘a big bowl of crappy snacks and sweets’ he kept on the Van Tulleken kitchen table.
‘It was my Rishi Sunak “I’m a man of the people” bit,’ he says. ‘We’re normal. My kids eat sugar.’ But now, that bowl is long gone now: ‘It was really harmful stuff and the children were digging in when they got back from school. We got rid of it and there was 24 hours of protest, and then they accepted it.’
Unavoidable UPFs
Yet, as the dad to three daughters, he admits it's essentially impossible to feed kids without some UPF help – admitting that while a box of Coco Pops has ‘more than three times the free sugar it should have to be compatible with a healthy diet,’ his seven-year-old daughter just can’t stop eating Coco Pops after one 30g portion.
Worryingly, the average adult in the UK consumes 57 per cent of their calories from ultra-processed food – and this figure rises to 65 per cent for children. Numerous studies have warned us of the health risks of eating UPFs – linking them to diseases including cancer, obesity and heart diseases, plus an array of other health problems such as tooth decay and dementia.
But, on a more positive note, children do want to eat healthily, Dr Van Tulleken insists. Even at Christmas. So while it’s ok to enjoy a little pre-packeted stuff in foil trays from the supermarket come the 25th – as always, it’s about balancing the ‘naughty stuff’ with lots of good-for-your-gut high-in-fibre veggies. Hello, sprouts.
Read next:
This is Florence Pugh's favourite cocktail to make on Christmas day
12 Christmas alcohol-free cocktails for merry (and mindful) sipping
Cut through the noise and get practical, expert advice, home workouts, easy nutrition and more direct to your inbox. Sign up to the WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWSLETTER
You Might Also Like
