What are ultra-processed foods (UPFs), and why is the concept so controversial? How does a diet high in these foods affect our bodies, brains, and hormones? And how can we build effective policies to improve public health without shaming individuals or fueling disordered eating?
In this episode of The Ty Beal Show, Chris van Tulleken, MD, PhD, a professor at University College London, BBC broadcaster, and author of the bestseller Ultra Process People, joins Ty to discuss the science and politics of ultra-processed foods.
Dr. van Tulleken shares the compelling results from his own self-experiment eating a diet comprised of 80% UPFs, detailing the rapid weight gain, hormonal disruption, and surprising changes in brain connectivity it caused. We explore the intense debate around the UPF definition, why industry engineering makes these products distinct from homemade food, and how corporate profit motives are a key driver of the global obesity pandemic. Dr. van Tulleken also offers a nuanced path forward for policy—one that focuses on nutrient-based warning labels, taxation, and marketing restrictions—and shares how he balances this knowledge with real life in his own family.
Highlights from the episode include:
- What happened to Dr. van Tulleken’s body, appetite hormones, and brain on a one-month, 80% ultra-processed diet
- The scientific and policy debates surrounding the UPF definition
- How food companies engineer food for overconsumption and profit
- Why a homemade brownie is not the same as a commercially produced one
- Practical policy solutions, including warning labels, marketing restrictions, and taxation
- The parallels between the food industry and the tobacco industry
- The critical problem of industry-funded science and conflicts of interest
- Navigating a "disordered food environment" without triggering disordered eating
Dr. van Tulleken brings his rigorous scientific perspective and trademark humor to one of the most polarized issues in modern nutrition, making a powerful case that we must address corporate power and the food environment to solve diet-related disease.
Find Dr. Chris van Tulleken at University College London and get his book, Ultra Process People. Connect with Dr. van Tulleken on X and Instagram.
Connect with Ty on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Read his publications on Google Scholar. Sign up for Ty's Newsletter.
