Scientists across the world are starting to link UPF foods to cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
A study published in The Lancet in November 2023 followed the diet of more than a quarter of a million people from seven countries across Europe for 11 years and found that those who consumed the most processed foods had an increased risk of problems compared with those who ate the least.
Bread is probably the single most UPF food we eat and most contain a long list of ingredients and additives that you would not recognise from your kitchen. Only Breads that contain just two or three UPF ingredients without emulsifiers could be classed as low-UPF products.
Tesco’s Brown Sourdough contains just one UPF ingredient, wheat fibre. A Warburton’s loaf that falls into this category is their White Sourdough – the only UPF ingredient being wheat gluten. Waitrose’s No. 1 White Sourdough is similar.
We will be looking at other foods and their UPF contents in the coming weeks.
