Ultraprocessed Foods: The #1 Cause Of Overeating And Weight Gain?

In this video, we will review evidence strongly suggesting that ultra-processed foods may be a major cause of overeating and weight gain.

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- VIDEO DESCRIPTION

- LINK TO REFERENCES AND BLOG POST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS VIDEO

- TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction
01:19 What are Ultra-Processed Foods?
03:45 Do Ultra-Processed Foods Cause Overeating and Weight Gain?
09:22 Why Do Ultra-Processed Foods Cause Overeating?
13:00 Key Take-Aways and How to Avoid Overeating
18:23 Conclusions

- LINKS
Nourished by Science Online:

Interview with Mark Schatzker, author of The Dorito Effect:

BBC Video of UK doctor Chris van Tulleken who switches to 80% ultra-processed food diet for 30 days:

- SIMILAR VIDEOS
The Global Nutrition Transition: discusses the global transition towards industrially-designed and -manufactured ultra-processed foods, and its link to the global obesity epidemic:

Prevention and Reversal of Chronic Disease: discusses several studies that show that chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease can be prevented and potentially reversed by diet and lifestyle modification alone. One central characteristic of such diets is that they are very low in ultra-processed foods:

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#UltraprocessedFoods #Obesity #WeightGain

[davidslack]

After watching this video I looked at the ingredients of Honey Nut Cheerios. Ingredients are legally supposed to be listed in order of volume so the first item on the list should be what the cereal has the most of. Whole Grain Oats was the first ingredient, followed by Sugar, Corn Starch, Honey, Brown Sugar Syrup, salt, etc. I was thinking... If Whole Grain Oats was say 5 grams and sugar was 4 grams, honey 3 grams, and Brown Sugar 2 grams, if you add up all of the sugar ingredients that equals 9 grams of sugar which is more than the 5 grams of whole grain oats. I would not be surprised if the food industry purposefully includes different types of sugar to make each individual sugar lower on the ingredients list to mislead customers on how much sugar is included in the item being sold. If you looked at this ingredients list and saw Whole Grain Oats at the top of the list you would feel assured that it contains "most" of what you are purchasing, but if you added up all of the various sugars and totaled them (in this case 12g of total sugars) there might be more sugar than oats because the sugar was purposefully broken down into different types of sugar to hide the total content.

[briankellner]

Last year, I ended up cutting out almost all ultra-processed foods while I was trying out a keto diet. I lost about 50 pounds over 6 months. I think the elimination of the processed foods was probably the main reason (I think the energy intake reduction mattered much more than ketosis). It took a fair bit more time as I made all my own meals from scratch. It also required trips to the grocery store at least weekly. During those first six months, I found my craving for ultra-processed foods was basically gone. But over the past six months as I have loosened up my restrictions, I find it very easy to "binge eat" things like chips, cookies, and candy if they are available. The few incidents like that haven't produced huge weight gain, but I've added back a couple pounds. And it reinforces how powerful those foods can be, at least in me, in driving over-eating.

[johnlaw]

Your podcasts / vlogs are brilliant full of facts real life experience and un biased advice. Really enjoy and look forward to your vlogs. Many thanks for making and sharing them.

[tinybarabo]

I love how down to earth this video is. Thank you so much for being so reasonable! ⭐️
In regards of the ultra processed food, I am trying to eat less of it, but I just noticed that I still tend to snack (especially late evenings) on these. Let’s see what happens when I switch from pretzels to cucumbers with hummus dip.

[cathyellington]

What you say is absolutely correct. It was by accident that NAFLD was found. I was sent to a liver specialist and a scan was done to determine the amount of fat in my liver and if there was fibrosis. I was very lucky to not have fibrosis but a severe amount of fat. Place on a food program and told to lose one pound per week. I went home and changed to a more Mediterranean diet. Chickpeas, chicken, spaghetti squash. Changed from reg pasta to chickpea pasta. Biggest change was everything homemade and fresh. I did lose the weight. It did take a little more time but I am retired and have the time. In the last few months my arthritis has gotten much worse and going to physical therapy. Getting ready to have two surgeries on my right hand. This should not be excuse but the pain and fatigue have caused problems. I need to get back to what I was doing or I can add liver disease to my list. I think what you are saying is motivation for me to do better and make permanent lifestyle changes.

[jameskantor]

Thank you for attaching the extra videos. I watched them and sent on to friends . Thank you for this video.

[gemmamngaza]

So far, the best explanation on processed food that I have heard. Thank you

[sophiahsiang]

during the covid lock down, I didn't have to commute to the office, I cooked all meals at home using whole foods and I quit sugar. My cyst had shrunk after one year of doing that, I continued cooking all meals at home for another year and my cyst shrank more. That damned cyst has been shrinking for two years after healthy eating!!! It's just amazing!

[MarinaVeder]

I noticed the same thing over the years of trying to lose weight and keep it off. Natural foods fill you up much better and last longer.

It is very important for me not to feel hungry, because every time after this I start to break down.

It’s better not to have food junk at home, since at home I often end up with binges since I have more time to spend on food.

Thank you for your channel 😊

[tofu-munchingCoalition.ofChaos]

My main ways to categorise food are:

1. Is it satisfactory?
2. Is it nutrient dense?

Some processed food ends up on my "good food" side. But most don't. And I suspect Ultraprocessing or the degree of processing to be just a proxy for that.
The things which do not pass these tests, I'll not buy as storage to eat later. I buy it if I want to eat it now and if I do not have leftovers of past similar cravings at home (chocolate at home if I crave chocolate). And I go shopping for food after meals.
The other "good" things I buy in larger quantities and for later.

A processed food which ends up passing 1&2 is for example the mock tuna from Nestlé.
An unprocessed food that ends up not passing my criteria for 1&2 (1 in particular) are dates. I can just overeat them very easily. I'll buy them nevertheless (as a sweetener) but I make a paste out of them and store it in fridge/freezer because I don't overeat it in the paste form.

ad 1.
I mean here two things. First of all it has to taste good. If I don't like it, it obviously makes no sense to buy it.
But second of all, it has to make me want to stop eating it. Some food just doesn't do that. I end up sometimes with even more cravings than before and without willpower only fullness would stop me.

ad 2.
Nutrient density depends on the usage of the food. For example vitamin E is one of my main problems. So I add oil sometimes even when I don't need it. But I wouldn't call oil nutrient dense if I would use it to make something taste fatty (I use natural nut and seed butters like tahini for that).
Hazelnuts are still better. But I don't always want to eat something with hazelnut. So oil has a nutritional purpose here for me.
The same with a soy milk that is much more processed than the one I also consume. But it has vitamin E added. I find that helpful to get enough vitamin E in without having to add oil I normally wouldn't have.

[erocnw]

Outstanding video! The information in the video is much more practical than the extremely restrictive diets that are so popular on YouTube.

[raystaar]

This is just my experience. I have no data to back it up, but this is what feels true to me. When I eat in such a way that all my nutritional needs are met, my hunger is utterly abated. I eat 90% unprocessed greens, beans, seeds, nuts, fruits, grains, starches and mushrooms, pretty much in the same proportions and amounts (roughly 2000 kCal daily). Two or three slices of rye bread are my one concession to processed food. I seldom experience cravings and my BMI hovers between 23.3 & 23.9. Having struggled to maintain a healthy weight for most of my life, this way of eating feels like magic to me. I recommend it highly.

[TeriRaude]

Thank you Mario for all the content on your channel. I especially enjoy all the evidence you reference. I watched the BBC YouTube video re: the change to ultra processed diet for 30 days and was astounded at the changes in the gentleman’s MRI scan.!!!! (Mind blowing). Thanks again for all your insight.

[krollpeter]

I agree 100 %.
No industrially produced food. Especially the big multinationals have plenty resources for replacing every ingredient of value with something that little bit cheaper, that little bit worse.

[MissMoonshineDance]

if you don’t feel like cooking, consider as fast food mashing an avocado into a cup of sauerkraut or kimchee, and top it with nuts (i prefer sprouted walnuts, because all forms of cabbage are enhanced/paired well with walnuts). can throw on a bed of greens. takes 3 mins to prepare and is filling, has fiber probiotics omega3 and better fats and protein. no spiking for most

[Carterofmars]

I restricted my carb intake to 70 to 100gm daily for 3 months, no processed foods, and primarily complex carbs, and I reduced my LP-IR marker from 65 down to 39. Fasted glucose from 96 down to 86.

That was very significant I felt. All other numbers improved as well.

I took a Calcium Score Test and it was 5. I'm 55 years young, 5'9" tall, 176lbs, with a BMI of 25/26ish. I'm large boned.

[Ninyth]

I like the style of these videos. They are easy to understand but do not lag a good amount of scientific background information. Make me wand to know more or get into the specific scientific information in depth. If you ever do part twos of your videos i would watch them.

[cherylwhite]

thanks--Number one--"You have to want to" once you decide that, you will find the time to be more mindful of what you eat--thanks again!!!

[JD-rtwf]

Delighted to open YouTube 9 minutes after this video went up! I love this channel, very informative and interesting videos.

[jackgoldman]

I have an off grid water access cabin with stored grains. I use wheat berries cooked to replace noodles, bread, bakery goods, etc.. Wheat berries with cheese is a cheese sandwich. Wheat berries with syrup and butter are pancakes. Wheat berries with apples, cinnamon, butter is a cinnamon roll. Wheat berries with spaghetti sauce is pasta. Wheat berries with pizza toppings is a pizza. The odd thing? Wheat berries are more filling, digest more slowly, provide a filled feeling longer with less calories. I prefer white wheat berries. Delicious.