Processed 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).

Everyone knows how hard it can be to maintain a healthy diet. But what if some of the decisions we make about what to eat are beyond our control? Is it possible that food is addictive, like drugs or alcohol? And to what extent does the food industry know, or care, about these vulnerabilities? In Hooked, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss sets out to answer these questions and to find the true peril in our food. 

We all know that as a nation our mental health is in crisis. But what most don't know is that a critical ingredient in this debate, and a crucial part of the solution—what we eat—is being ignored. Nutrition has more influence on what we feel, who we become and how we behave than we could ever have imagined. It affects everything from our decision-making to aggression and violence. Yet mental health disorders are overwhelmingly treated as 'mind' problems as if the physical brain—and how we feed it—is irrelevant.

This short book explores why processed foods are the probable cause of our epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer and explains what we can do to start reversing the effects. After decades of being taught that we need to eat less and move more, this book helps the listener understand what they can do to lose weight and be healthier without starving themselves. 

What if depression, anxiety, infertility, insomnia, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, cancer and many other health conditions actually have the same root cause? Our ability to prevent and reverse these conditions – and feel incredible today – is under our control and simpler than we think. The key is our metabolic function – the most important and least understood factor in our overall health. As Dr Casey Means explains in this groundbreaking book, nearly every health problem we face can be explained by how well the cells in our body create and use energy.

In the hard-hitting, groundbreaking tradition of his NY Times best seller Fat Chance, which revealed the dangers of sugar, Dr Robert Lustig persuasively presents a stark exposé of how our addiction to processed foods (aided and abetted by the food industry, big ag, big pharma, institutional medicine and the government) is behind the lethal increase in major non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease, cancer and dementia. 

Fat, Stressed, and Sick makes the case that processed food compromises health not just because of added sugar, salt, and fat, but also because these foods contain significant amounts of glutamate—aka MSG. MSG makes food deliciously addicting. What was not well-known until described here is that most of the MSG in processed food is created during food manufacturing. As the authors show, food processing of protein alone adds ten grams or more a day of MSG to the average American diet.

A high-sodium diet is deadly; studies have linked it to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attacks. It's been estimated that excess sodium in the American diet causes as many as 100,000 deaths per year. And yet salt is everywhere in our diets - in packaged food, fast food, and restaurant meals. Why hasn't salt received the sort of attention and regulatory action that sugar and fat have? In Salt Wars, Michael Jacobson explains how the American food industry has fought government efforts to reduce dangerous levels of sodium in our food.

The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influence—of arrowheads and atomic bombs, settlers and stock markets. But behind it all, there is an even more fundamental driver: Food. In Animal, Vegetable, Junk, trusted food authority Mark Bittman offers a panoramic view of how the frenzy for food has driven human history to some of its most catastrophic moments.

Men are under daily attack from the preservatives in processed food, the emasculating chemicals found in public tap water, and the female growth hormones in meats, all of which are causing an increase in erectile dysfunction. With the average 25 year-old-male only having half the sperm count he should have, our virility is literally being eroded everyday by the supermarkets and fast food chains in the name of profit.

For centuries, skeptical foreigners - and even millions of Americans - have believed there was no such thing as American cuisine. In recent decades, hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza have been thought to define the nation's palate. Not so, says food historian Paul Freedman, who demonstrates that there is an exuberant and diverse, if not always coherent, American cuisine that reflects the history of the nation itself.

This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to win the war against poor eating habits. By teaching you ways to eliminate bad stuff from entering your body, you will be able to control your diet and achieve better quality of life. With a few simple steps, some willpower, and discipline, you will be well on your way to living smarter, eating better, and shedding pounds in a matter of days.