Prática de Shadowing: Are ultra-processed foods impossible to avoid? - The Global Story podcast, BBC World Service - Aprenda a falar inglês com o YouTube

Hello, I'm Lucy Hawkins.

⏸ Pausado

Velocidade:

335 frases

Se as frases estiverem muito curtas ou longas, clique em Edit para ajustá-las.

Hello, I'm Lucy Hawkins.

From the BBC World Service,

this is The Global Story.

Ready meals, chocolate, biscuits, sausages, fizzy drinks.

We know that processed food is bad for us.

But recent research shows that in many countries around the world,

the majority of calories most of us consume are from products known as ultra-processed foods.

These foods are being blamed for an increase in ill health,

including heart attacks, strokes, obesity,

type 2 diabetes and even anxiety.

So how harmful are ultra processed foods for our health?

And given how common they are,

is it even possible to avoid them?

With me today is BBC health correspondent Philippa Roxby and Ruth Alexander,

a presenter of the BBC programme The Food Chain.

Good to have you both with us.

Hi.

Thanks.

Hi, Lucy.

Hello.

Ruth, I think we need to start with the basics here.

What exactly are ultra-processed foods?

It's industrially made food that's designed to be delicious.

Often the companies making them have really kind of hacked what it is

that we crave in terms of taste and they've put those tastes in as additives and often food that's marketed at you.

I mean you don't often see adverts for potatoes or eggs,

they're not ultra-processed of course,

but food that's packaged, displayed prominently,

particularly to appeal to children,

say, marketed and advertised at you.

Ruth, I'm now just mentally running through a checklist of everything that's in my cupboards,

in my fridge and freezer and I'm a little bit worried about what you're about to tell us.

So I know you've also been going through your cupboards,

what have you found?

I mostly cook from scratch so I didn't think I would find much but I found plenty.

Wholemeal bread, you know the sliced package variety that you find in supermarkets,

nutritionally good for you but ultra processed.

Fish fingers which I think of as a sort of quick

but healthy you know dinner time thing and I thought well

that can't be ultra processed it's just fish and bread crumbs isn't it?

It was ultra processed.

Mayonnaise, I'd had a little bit with my lunch when I was going around my kitchen checking things.

Ultra processed.

Mustard, ultra processed.

But the one that probably surprised me most of all was stock cubes.

I looked at them and they are ultra processed.

So that means that all those home cooked stews I did,

all that cooking from scratch I did actually was kind of undone.

If we start at the beginning of the day then,

what about Philippa cereal?

So many kids start the day with a bowl of cereal with some whole milk.

Is that okay?

It can be depending on the type of cereal you choose.

There's a lot of cereals that are sweetened so lots of sugar is added to them and actually you've got some here.

They look a little bit chocolatey.

There's definitely added sugar in there but then there's a lot of cereals

that have our whole grain and have fibre in them and are good for you.

So this is the slight issue with the definition of ultra-processed foods is

that you tend to think that everything in your your cupboard cannot be eaten.

But actually there are some that do contain the good stuff you need.

And it's just sorting the good ones out from the bad ones.

I mean, I think one of the things with cereal is

that they're marketed as being healthy for you and a really good start to the day,

particularly for kids.

And this is where scientists are really concerned, aren't they?

Because they say actually they're the driving force behind multiple diet-related illnesses can be in something as simple as your breakfast cereal.

Yeah, that's right.

I mean, there's evidence that children's,

the majority of children's diets,

particularly in the Western world,

are made up of ultra-processed foods.

So everything from, you know,

the bread they eat to the cereals to maybe the drinks they have at breakfast.

And that's a real worry because these kids are growing up.

And what will this do to their health later on?

I mean, there's lots of research,

growing evidence that ultra-processed foods aren't particularly good for us,

but scientists are still not sure exactly what it is about those foods that's causing the problem.

Is it the way they're made,

the way they're processed, or is it the fact

that they just contain lots of sugar and lots of fat as we can see here?

I mean we've got a table in front of us full of ultra-processed foods and just looking at them,

some you could say they're high in saturated fats,

salt, sugar, but there's some pretty innocent looking bread there as well.

I guess these are processed to last longer They're probably,

they look like sort of long life rolls.

So you want them to stay okay in your cupboard so you can eat them for say several days.

And that's why in the food industry,

they do process things to preserve them and keep them for longer.

So there are some reasons why processing is a good thing.

There are other reasons why processing might not be such a good thing.

Yeah, and I see, Ruth,

that scientists have done a big review,

the largest review of some of the evidence to date,

and they say there are 32 harmful health effects from some of these foods that are out there.

But looking at the table of food in front of us,

or even thinking about what's in our cupboards,

Is there any nutritional value or is there some hope there with some of these foods Ruth?

Well that's the thing and as Philippa was saying it's not known why ultra processed food might be causing harm.

100

And it could be that there are some foods that are ultra processed that are absolutely fine for you.

101

Like my whole meal sliced bread has got lots of goodness in it.

102

It's got fibre, it's got added vitamins.

103

it's not necessarily that everything ultra-processed will definitely be bad for you.

104

And also, I mean, there's another category just down from ultra-processed,

105

which is processed food, and that's not being criticised.

106

But when I was looking in my cupboards,

107

the dark chocolate that I would like to say is an occasional treat.

108

Actually, it's probably quite a frequent treat, if I'm honest.

109

You and me both, Ruth, I have to say.

110

Keeps you going, doesn't it?

111

It gets you through.

112

But that was processed, not ultra-processed.

113

Is it good for me in the quantities I eat it?

114

I'm not so sure.

115

Also potato crisps, another of my weaknesses,

116

is another good one to look at because

117

if they've got added flavour they tend to be ultra-processed but the plain salted varieties are not considered ultra-processed.

118

Are they good for me? well they're full of saturated fat and have high levels of salt.

119

Probably not actually.

120

So it's not

121

clear cut

122

and it's as Philippa said it's not clear cut what it is about the ultra processing of food

123

that that may be harmful.

124

Ruth you and I share these guilty pleasures.

125

I also love crisps I have to say as well as dark chocolate.

126

So Philippa I'm standing in the supermarket aisle I'm looking at the back of a product what exactly should I look for?

127

In the ingredients list you're looking for lots of things with very long unpronounceable names

128

that you would not find anywhere in your kitchen as ingredients

129

and those are probably they could be emulsifiers and additives

130

and flavourings and colourings and they quite often have very long complicated names

131

and that's a good indication that it's probably an ultra processed food.

132

What else?

133

It might have added sugars and sweeteners or fake sugars

134

and it may say that it's sort of low in sugar

135

or low in fat and make that sort of claim on the packet.

136

And quite often it will come in a package and not look like the original food,

137

not look like a whole tomato or a whole vegetable.

138

It will be a sauce that comes in a jar or comes in a tin or comes in a package.

139

Surely the picture is different depending on which country we're talking about.

140

And I know in 2010 a group of Brazilian scientists said

141

we should be focusing less on the nutritional content of food and more on the form of processing it undergoes.

142

and they created this NOVA classification which categorises foods based on how processed they are.

143

And Ruth, I know you've spoken to one of the scientists who came up with that system,

144

Professor Jean-Claude Mubarak at the University of Montreal.

145

Did they give you an idea of just how common UPFs are and how difficult and tricky it is to avoid them?

146

They did.

147

I actually asked for some examples of ultra-processed food

148

and after about a minute of different foods being listed I

149

realised it would have been much simpler to ask what isn't ultra-processed actually.

150

So you know think of packaged snacks,

151

sweets, biscuits, pastries, cakes, pizzas,

152

cereals, I mean the list just goes on and on and on and the sales of this type of food,

153

ultra-processed food are actually thought to be increasing around the world particularly in middle-income countries where the sales are rising

154

and then in richer countries they're already pretty high.

155

I mean you know yourself if you go to the shops actually you've got the fruit

156

and veg aisle and then beyond

157

that there are just many many shelves with lots of different packaged goods

158

and if you look at the ingredients on the back it's often a long long list of ingredients

159

so there is a fair amount of ultra processed food out there.

160

Philippa, these Brazilian scientists only came up with the term UPF back in 2010.

161

That wasn't that long ago.

162

So how much more is there to find out about the impact that UPFs have on our health?

163

Well, a lot more.

164

It's really a fairly recent term.

165

And there's been an awful lot of research in the last few years into ultraprocessed foods

166

and how they affect our health and why that might be.

167

And actually scientists really haven't come up with an answer to that yet.

168

And so we really don't know whether it's the processing

169

and these added ingredients that are added into the crisps and the bread and the cereals here.

170

Is that the problem?

171

Or is it just that we're going back to too much fat,

172

too much sugar, too many calories in our diet?

173

Philippa, how much harder is it if you've got a health or dietary issue,

174

which means that you have to have these foods?

175

I know I have a son who has celiac

176

and a lot of what I go to buy him in the supermarket seems to have a lot of UPFs in it.

177

And it's because it doesn't necessarily have the ingredients in it to make the food stick together

178

or to last a long time or it has a lot of sugar in it to make it taste good.

179

But there aren't many other options.

180

Yeah, that's true.

181

I mean, a lot of people do rely on processed or ultra processed foods for their dietary needs.

182

Celiacs, for example, have to avoid foods that have gluten in them.

183

So if you go to that particular aisle in the supermarket,

184

you're going to find things that are processed because they need to avoid that ingredient and replace it with something else.

185

And then there's things like baby formula milk.

186

That would count as ultra-processed under this classification system.

187

And yet it's something that's used worldwide by mums trying to feed their babies.

188

And it comes from cow's milk.

189

But it's had other things added to make it healthy for babies.

190

There's also vegan foods, plant-based foods.

191

They would also count as ultra-processed.

192

And yet they're seen as very healthy alternatives to meat.

193

I spoke to Jean-Claude Mubarak about the issue of,

194

for example, infant formula and gluten-free foods and said,

195

well, you know, like they're ultra processed under this Nova classification system,

196

but people rely on those for health reasons.

197

And he agreed and said,

198

actually, he said, I view infant formula,

199

for example, as medicine, not as food, but medicine.

200

I'm a working mum

201

and I'm starting to feel a little bit guilty at the moment about UPFs and what I'm feeding my family.

202

It's pretty tricky because one of the messages is

203

that we should be cooking from scratch

204

and cooking at home in our own kitchens with food that we know where it's come from.

205

But this is all really time consuming at the end of a long day.

206

Yeah, I mean, it's very difficult,

207

as we discussed, to avoid every single ultra processed food it's extremely difficult

208

and if you're a busy working parent for example with young children

209

you don't always feel you have the time to cook from scratch

210

that means starting off with the with the vegetables and making the sauce from scratch perhaps and all the different elements

211

of a meal and that can be time consuming

212

and for some people it makes them a little bit nervous and a bit anxious and it's much easier,

213

let's face it, to reach for something that's ready made,

214

ready to go in the oven,

215

ready to go in the microwave.

216

It's quite often cheaper too and in these constrained times

217

when we're all thinking about how much money we've got in our pockets,

218

that is an easier option.

219

Cost must be a big factor for some people when they're considering what to eat.

220

I think it is and also people are time poor as well aren't they?

221

Even just stopping to examine the ingredients on the back of packets in the shop.

222

You know that's time that you probably don't have.

223

When I discovered the stock I was using was ultra processed thought right I'll start making my own stock.

224

Have I done that?

225

No I haven't.

226

I haven't got the time.

227

I think like as Philippa You haven't got the time to go to the butcher

228

and get the chicken carcass and bring it home and get the vegetables and put it in the pot.

229

I mean yes you're right just simple stock is time consuming.

230

Yeah, that's it.

231

And, you know, when you can go and buy chicken nuggets in the store for very little money,

232

a big bag and put it in the freezer and it's there when you need it.

233

You know, that's that's what everyone is up against.

234

So I was in the supermarket recently and it's the first time I've noticed this,

235

that people have been standing in aisles with their phones out and scanning food.

236

what kind of tech is out there to help us identify what's in the food

237

that we're buying and what UPFs are there?

238

Yes, you can find these apps which will tell you this is ultra-processed and also like how nutritionally,

239

what the nutritional value of the food is.

240

I used one in my kitchen.

241

I must say they're sort of like once you get going on it,

242

you know, I had to make a conscious decision to,

243

OK, close the cupboards, put my phone down, just stop this.

244

What you do is you scan the barcodes

245

and it has a traffic light system where you're looking at green for nutritionally good,

246

green for not ultra-processed, red if it's ultra-processed.

247

And it just gets you thinking.

248

As I say, there's something really satisfying about scanning a barcode and then finding out,

249

is this good or is this bad?

250

I was on a family holiday recently and we got the kids to do all the scanning of the food,

251

which they thought was great fun.

252

Any excuse to use the phone,

253

I don't think they mind.

254

As long as they've got the phone in their hands, they're happy.

255

But it is quite a lot of effort to scan a product like this.

256

And Chile has an interesting example of what their government is doing about UPFs.

257

Ruth, tell us what they did to tackle high obesity rates.

258

Yes, a few years ago,

259

they brought in a system where they have black labels on packaging,

260

which if it's high in sugar or in fat, for example.

261

We did speak to people in Chile about whether they found those labels useful

262

and they said that they did and they do try to avoid those black labelled products.

263

And we asked them, you know,

264

would you find it useful to have a label that said ultra processed?

265

And they said, yes, they would.

266

If we don't fill up a get on top of UPFs,

267

what's going to happen in the long term?

268

This type of food is so freely available and it's cheap and it's very Moorish.

269

And of course, lots of people say that it slips down very easily

270

and it means that you want more very soon afterwards.

271

So potentially you eat more of that type of stuff because it slips down our throats easily.

272

And if children grow up used to eating that way,

273

that will continue into adulthood.

274

So it's certainly a worry,

275

but I think scientists have still got a job to do

276

to find out more evidence about whether it's the processing that's to blame or whether it's the ingredients.

277

And then also, I suppose we all need to think about,

278

every country around the world needs to think about how we

279

can help people choose more of the right kinds of foods and less of the wrong kinds of foods.

280

But it's a big challenge.

281

So any other hot tips,

282

Ruth, about how we can realistically cut down on our UPFs?

283

Probably the thing to do is to start with a small realistic step as well.

284

If you're listening to this and thinking,

285

you know what, I would like to reduce the amount of ultra-processed food I'm eating.

286

Perhaps it's just making one meal in the week from scratch.

287

If you're vegan and you're relying on plant-based meat substitutes,

288

which are often ultra-processed, perhaps think about substituting that with lentils and beans,

289

which can bulk out the dish.

290

I mean, if you just think about what you're drinking with a meal,

291

go for water rather than a carbonated sugary drink which would be ultra processed.

292

That might not be so popular with your children though but I'm just saying you could try to do that.

293

Interestingly a colleague tried to give up ultra processed food for a month in January and she failed on day one.

294

She went to the pub wanting a non-alcoholic drink

295

and all the drinks there were ultra processed but I did say to her you could have chosen water, sparkling water.

296

But she just moved on,

297

she didn't comment on that one.

298

But you know, a quick meal that I enjoy is an omelette sandwich.

299

The problem, I mean the omelette is not ultra processed,

300

but I suppose the problem is the bread I'm using,

301

it probably is ultra processed.

302

And if you want to find non-ultra processed bread,

303

just processed bread, then you're going to have to go to a bakery

304

and that probably will cost more money and it will go stale quicker.

305

But you can put it in your freezer and make it last longer if you have a freezer.

306

That's true.

307

People tend to think that if you freeze something, it's a bad thing.

308

And freezing is just another process.

309

But actually freezing is a great way of making something last for longer,

310

as Ruth was saying, sliced bread,

311

where lots of people in lots of countries are very fond of sliced bread.

312

And the problem with this classification is you tend to think you can only buy very nice,

313

very expensive, rustic, whole grain bread.

314

And that's the only thing.

315

Barmer's market bread or bakery bread.

316

We know how that expensive that is.

317

So very difficult for families to make that choice.

318

And sometimes just buying a sliced brown bread from the supermarket is fine and then you can freeze it and store it.

319

And also, I mean, something that I often make when I've got vegetables that are about to go off,

320

I make a soup, just get them all in there and make a soup.

321

And I do put, as we know,

322

an ultra processed stock cube in there,

323

but at least it's a pan full of fresh

324

or just about fresh vegetables otherwise

325

so you know um there can be some compromise in there yeah i think

326

so well that's how i'm living anyway ruth it would be lovely

327

if you were here with us but maybe it's best

328

that you're not

329

because given our weakness for crisps i've got some on the

330

table in front of me it's going to take every bit of my willpower

331

not to polish them off but it's been lovely to have you with us thanks

332

so much thank you very much and uh yeah i'm i'm pleased to have avoided

333

that bag of crisps can we resist No, definitely not.

334

Thanks so much, Philippa.

335

Thank you.

TRENDING

Populares

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.

☕ Pague-nos um café

O ShadowingEnglish permanece 100% gratuito graças ao seu apoio. Os custos de servidor e IA são altos — seu café nos mantém ativos! 🙏

Doar via PayPal

ShadowingEnglish.com – Prática de Shadowing em Inglês

Fale inglês fluentemente usando a técnica de Shadowing. Ouça vídeos nativos do YouTube, repita frase por frase e desenvolva pronúncia e fluência reais — usado por estudantes de IELTS no mundo todo.

Prática de Shadowing: Are ultra-processed foods impossible to avoid? - The Global Story podcast, BBC World Service - Aprenda a falar inglês com o YouTube

Populares

Sobre Esta Aula

Vocabulário e Frases Chave

Dicas de Prática

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?

Prática de Shadowing: Are ultra-processed foods impossible to avoid? - The Global Story podcast, BBC World Service - Aprenda a falar inglês com o YouTube

Baixar aplicativo

Sobre Esta Aula

Vocabulário e Frases Chave

Dicas de Prática

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?