'I asked Dr Hilary Jones about processed foods – what he said changed my diet'

Dr Hilary Jones MBE talked about the impact of ultra-processed foods
-Credit:Adam Gerrard / Daily Express


Like many people, I thought my diet was pretty healthy.

I stick to three meals a day, pack my meals with fruit and vegetables and cook freshly home-cooked food as much as I can. But, I still don't know what's really going into my food.

That was made clear when I sat down with ITV's Dr Hilary Jones MBE to see just how much ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are impacting our health. It call came about as Gousto has launched a new health-focused campaign in partnership with Dr Hilary to get people talking about their eating habits.

Independent research commissioned by Gousto found that 69% of people are concerned about the impact of UPFs on their health, but 60% are confused by what ultra-processed food means. Generally, it's thought people cook meals from scratch only 3.75 times a week.

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If you're wondering what UPFs are, they are basically foods that have been largely changed from their original state through industrial processes. They often contain many ingredients and additives to make them last longer.

Ingredients for cooking healthy vegetarian breakfast or snack.
Some breakfast foods that may not be as healthy as you think -Credit:Getty

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When I asked what the dangers of UPFs are, Dr Hilary said: "The biggest danger is people are consuming far too much. They are not bad for us in their own right but, when we rely on them too much, they are.

"You may reach for breakfast cereals - they are quite highly processed. They are sugary, they may have some fibre, but quite a lot of it is processed. You might make toast - bread has a lot of emulsifiers which helps it to keep for longer.

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"In flavoured yoghurts - there are a lot of sweeteners. There are so many things that you think are healthy."

The more Dr Hilary started to give examples, the more I started to think about how people could be eating a highly processed diet without realising. If you start your day with a bowl of cereal, then you're already failing to begin with something nutritious.

If you have a sandwich for lunch together with a biscuit or packet of crisps - that's two meals where you've eaten hardly anything fresh. When it's broken down into simple terms, it's so easy to see where people can go wrong, and it's not even their fault when they think the food is a healthy choice.

But UPFs can impact our health more than we think. Previously, a study conducted by the British Medical Journal uncovered UPFs could lead to a higher risk of adverse health outcomes. This related to issues including cardiovascular disease, being obese or overweight and type 2 diabetes.

Evidence also showed the foods could lead to issues with gastrointestinal health, some cancers and other potential complications. While it may be hard for people to completely rid them from their diet, he said there are things we can do to lower our consumption of UPFs.

Dr Hilary Jones MBE talked about the impact of ultra-processed foods
Dr Hilary is working in partnership with Gousto -Credit:PA

The good news is, you can work to reverse the damage. As Dr Hilary said, you can think of it like smoking. If you give it up, or lessen the amount you consume, the risks associated with it decreases.

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And this is what we need to think about - how we can make small changes to make a difference. Like making porridge from scratch instead of buying a flavoured prepared version or making a soup for lunch instead of emptying one from a can - things that I don't always do.

When it comes to how much UPFs we should really be eating, Dr Hilary said: "The lower the better, but 60% is far too much. We need fibre - 30g a day. We can get this from potatoes, wholewheat bread, pasta - you should be aiming to increase your fibre intake from these starchy carbohydrates."

It may seem like more work, but it's what's better for our health. As Dr Hilary said, the reason UPFs are so popular is because they're marketed as both "convenient and appealing", even if they're not that great for us.

For this reason, he said it's not actually people's fault that we're consuming so much. Instead, he says we just need to learn more about what we're eating and make sensible choices.

"Food companies make them convenient and appealing," Dr Hilary added. "If you have meat, sausages, bacon - a lot of these types of things, they are not bad for you in their own right. Chicken nuggets are the worst - if you get them, they're processed and fried."

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After speaking to the health professional, I quickly realised that I make simple mistakes often by simply picking convenience over mindful choices. This is something I'm going to change as a result of our conversation, as I don't want to ever become reliant on processed food.

Speaking about the perks of Gousto, he added: "People can have something that is delievered to the door, with fresh products and it comes with easy to use recipes that can be made in 10 minutes. It's leading the way in helping people make the healthier choice."