Eating Processed Foods For One Month Alters The Brain In This Worrying Way

Who knew that food could do that? It’s shocking, to say the least. Keeping that information in mind, you’re probably wondering what products come under the processed and ultra-processed foods umbrella. There’s quite a bit actually, so it might be an idea to grab a pen for this next part!

For comparison, items such as fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, grains, seafood, nuts and herbs are all considered to be unprocessed foods. As per the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada website, that’s the stuff you should try to build your eating regimens around. They’re both healthy and tasty, which is a welcome combination.

Meanwhile, products like cheese, baked potatoes, bread, flour, tofu and canned corn are part of the processed foods category. Why? Well, it’s pretty simple. If an item takes on additional salt, oil or sugar during the production stages, it’s no longer considered to be unprocessed. Packaging plays a role in that, too.

Now, don’t panic – if your diet includes a number of those food items, there’s not much to worry about. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, these things won’t necessarily harm your body. Phew! But ultra-processed foods are a very different story. The name alone probably gives that away.

Otherwise referred to as UPFs, the ultra-processed foods label covers a lot of ground. Products like pizza, chips, french fries, candy, cereal, chicken nuggets, chocolate and hot dogs are all part of it. What puts them in that category, though? How are they different from their processed food counterparts? Van Tulleken went into more detail on that front.

Writing for the Daily Mail in May 2021, van Tulleken explained, “UPFs are typically convenience foods. The main ingredient is often a protein, fat or carbohydrate extracted from a cheap crop, soy or corn and then industrially modified, shaped, colored and flavored. A long shelf life is a good giveaway.”

Now, these items aren’t considered to be particularly healthy, yet statistics suggest that people snack on them a lot. According to van Tulleken, 20 percent of adults in the United Kingdom base a whopping eight-tenths of their eating regimens around ultra-processed foods. As for Canada, many people there are said to base half their diets around them.

What about America, though? Well, the BMJ Open journal answered that tantalizing question. Analysts sent out a questionnaire to over 9,000 test subjects, quizzing them on their eating habits. By the end, they discovered that close to an average of 58 percent of Americans’ food intake could be classified as UPFs.

To say those are worrying figures would be a bit of an understatement! But that takes us back to our earlier question: what happens when UPFs enter your system? As we noted, van Tulleken put that to the test as he took part in an eye-opening experiment. But what kind of physician is this guy?

As per the BBC website, van Tulleken operates out of the University College London Hospital, plying his trade as an infectious diseases physician. The doctor is also an expert in so-called “extreme” medical treatments. But that’s not all, as he’s actually become a regular fixture on the small screen as well.

Yep, van Tulleken has fronted a number of shows on the BBC in recent times. His credits include Operation Ouch, Horizon: Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad? and Horizon: Fat v Sugar. The doctor’s UPFs experiment took place on a different program, though. That one was titled What Are We Feeding Our Kids?, which aired in May 2021.

So, what was van Tulleken’s plan of action? Well, he explained it on the show, saying, “I’m going to switch from my normal, healthy diet, [where] I eat about 20 percent ultra-processed foods, to an 80 percent ultra-processed food diet. So I want to find out if doing nothing but changing the proportion of [UPFs] in my diet has any effects on my health.”

Van Tulleken also stated that a specialist would monitor his progress to ensure “the results will be scientifically valid.” Makes sense! Anyway, the physician began his test by eating a helping of fried chicken on the opening night. Then, on the third day, he dove into a red-hot microwave lasagna.

Over the next few days, van Tulleken then tucked away stuff like cereal, burgers and a stuffed-crust pizza. Regarding the latter, he remarked, “This is definitely what the scientific papers call ‘hyper-palatable.’ So it’s just really eatable, delicious food. And it’s really hard to stop eating.” We can certainly relate to that feeling!

As for his eating schedule, van Tulleken made a rather concerning point. The doctor revealed, “The rules of my experiment are that I eat whenever I feel hungry, which I always do. But previously, that meant eating three meals a day with the occasional snack. Now, I find myself craving food much more often.”

As the test rolled on, van Tulleken stuck diligently to his UPFs diet right up until the bitter end. But as he approached that moment, the BBC host found that he was experiencing a few notable issues. Understandably, his body hadn’t responded all too well to his extreme diet across that month.

According to the BBC Food website, van Tulleken suffered from heartburn, constipation, insomnia and constant bouts of uneasiness during the test. His sex drive was also affected, while he faced down a bout of piles, too. On that note, it’s fair to say that he didn’t have the best time of it!

Van Tulleken told BBC Food, “I felt ten years older. [But I] didn’t realize it was all [because of] the food until I stopped eating the diet.” Mind you, that wasn’t the worst of it. Unsurprisingly, the doctor’s weight was impacted by the onslaught of UPFs across that spell, leading to a nasty discovery.

The specialist watching over the results on What Are We Feeding Our Kids? revealed that van Tulleken had put on more than 14 pounds. To add to that, she noted that his body fat had shot up by over 6.6 pounds as well, along with his Body Mass Index. Talk about an unwanted increase.

Sticking with that subject, van Tulleken informed BBC Food, “If the weight gain continued at that rate for six months, I would have gained six stone.” That’s the equivalent of roughly 84 pounds. Trust us, that’s not a typo! Shocking stuff, wouldn’t you agree? And the bad news just kept on coming.

During a segment on the show, van Tulleken asked the expert about his “hormone levels” in the experiment. She responded, “What we found is that the hunger hormone in your blood went up by 30 percent once you’d been on the diet. [And] we saw a decrease in the fullness hormone.”

The specialist went on, “So you got a double whammy. You’ve got an increase in the hunger hormone and a decrease in the hormone that’s telling your brain that you’ve eaten.” That’s a really troublesome change. No wonder van Tulleken put on so much weight. Yet the biggest surprise was left until the end.

At both the start and conclusion of the experiment, van Tulleken underwent a brain scan. Now, the results of this might seem a little... jumbled at first, but bear with us! As you can see, there’s lots of blue and red scattered across the screen. But the meaning of these squiggles became much clearer when the expert elaborated on them.

In the show, the specialist informed van Tulleken, “Blue is how areas of your brain talked to each other before the diet. And the red [lines] are the new functional connections in your brain after four weeks on the diet. So everything that’s red is a new connection between parts of your brain that wasn’t there before.”

That might be hard to believe, but it’s absolutely the truth. The ultra-processed foods had essentially rewired van Tulleken’s brain over the course of the test. It’s a terrifying thought, but now the doctor had more in common with those suffering from dependency issues than he did at the start.

As van Tulleken explained on the show, “My diet has linked up the reward centers of my brain with the areas that drive repetitive, automatic behavior. So, eating ultra-processed food has become something my brain simply tells me to do, without me even wanting it. Shockingly, this is something you might see in a person with addiction.”

Picked your jaws off the floor yet? It’s startling to know that food could have that much of an effect on our bodies. But can the issues caused by a UPFs-rich diet be fixed, especially if you’ve been chowing down on such products for a number of years? Well, it’s not as clear-cut as you might hope.

For instance, a bad diet can result in blocked arteries, leading to issues with your heart going forward. This is called atherosclerosis. But can you get rid of that with a switch in eating habits? A physician offered their views on the subject while speaking to the Harvard Medical School website in February 2018.

This person was Dr. JoAnn Manson, who worked at the aforementioned college. She said, “Some studies suggest that regression of atherosclerosis is possible.” Yet that doesn’t tell the whole story. Sure it’s “possible,” but attaining that result is probably too much for most. Instead, your best bet is to stop it getting worse.

And a diet alteration can help with that. Manson added, “There is compelling evidence that lifestyle modifications, and medications as needed, can reduce your risk factors.” Meanwhile, you should be able to reverse the weight gain that comes from overindulging on UPFs by becoming more mobile and eating healthier during the day.

What about your brain, though? Can those changes be reversed? Van Tulleken answered that question while writing for the Daily Mail in May 2021. But we’ll be blunt – his response isn’t particularly positive, so don’t get your hopes up. Yes, this is far more complex than just shedding some excess pounds.

Van Tulleken revealed, “Even after I stopped my diet, scans show the new connections are still at play. So it seems I can’t undo what this food has done to my brain. I am programmed to find it even harder to say no to UPFs.” If that’s the case with him, then it’s probably the same for anyone else with similar habits. Worrying stuff.

It seems that fewer people were dealing with this issue in the past. In another segment on What Are We Feeding Our Kids? van Tulleken discovered that people in the U.K. weren’t so dependent on UPFs back in 1980. Yep, only 26 percent of their budget was splashed on those products.

On the flip side of that, residents devoted nearly 60 percent of their shopping budget to unprocessed foods at the time. The suggestion was that people were more inclined to create their dishes from scratch during that period. Yet within two decades, those habits swung in the other direction quite dramatically.

By the year 2000, U.K. families devoted just 28 percent of their spending to unprocessed foods, compared to 44 percent on UPFs. So, the answer appears to be simple. People could avoid developing a reliance on the latter through better diets. That seems to be the best way to stop the connections from forming.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. Then again, it’s vitally important that you give it go, especially if you’ve got children. You see, kids won’t be immune to the effects that come from eating vast quantities of UPFs. And do you really want to mess around with a growing brain?

As van Tulleken says on What Are We Feeding Our Kids?, “My concern is that children’s brains are still developing. And they’re much more malleable than mine, which means the changes are likely to be even greater.” He’s got a right to be worried. During the show, it was revealed that 64 percent of youngsters’ diets in the U.K. were centered on UPFs.

That’s a staggering number. So, what does van Tulleken hope will come from this process – one that he’s quite literally given his brain for? Well, he made a simple outline for the Daily Mail. The doctor said, “I don’t want to ban UPFs, but I would like proper information on food labels based on the best independent science about the health risks.”

Van Tulleken then added, “If we don’t acknowledge the role of UPFs in creating the obesity epidemic, we condemn our children to lifetimes of ill health. By the time they’re adults, it’ll be too late, their fragile growing brains wired to crave and eat ultra-processed foods without them necessarily even wanting to do so.” Just keep that in mind on your future shopping trips.