Transformational Nutrition

So you have probably all read the recent hype about ‘ultra-processed’ foods leading to cancer and are probably panicking about the last meal you ate and how soon before you drop dead!! But how true is all this media sensationalisation and what does it actually mean for you? ‘ Ultra-processed’ de-mystified Well let’s start by unpicking the truly terrifying term ‘ultra-processed’.   It c omes from the NOVA classification which is a system used in Scientific research that ranks foods into 4 categories:  1) minimally or unprocessed,  2) processed ingredients,  3) processed foods   4) ultra-processed foods. Whilst this is useful for researchers, it can be very confusing and misleading for public health advice.   Not only because the categories themselves are very vague but because foods with hugely varying nutrition profiles are lumped together – particularly in the 4 th category.   For example, shop bought hummus, oatcakes and even yogurts are ‘ultra-

If you read my first blog you will now be equipped with some facts about ‘dieting’ and understand how most ‘quick-fixes’ don’t work in the long-term.   This is all well and good, you may think, but what steps do you need to take now and more importantly, how do you keep the weight off?   Good questions!! But before I attempt to rock your world 😉 , I would just like to reiterate why your ‘diet’ keeps letting you down - which I am guessing is the case if you are reading this: 1.      Once the novelty has worn off or you have been lucky enough to achieve your goal, old habits creep back and the weight piles back on!   The inflexibility required doesn’t allow us to establish the lifestyle changes necessary to long-term success. 2.      They lead to a continuous cycle of yo-yo dieting where if we ‘cheat’ or have a bad day, we have a mini-melt down, feel like a failure and throw in the towel.   Then we rinse and repeat!   Phew, exhausting just to think about…..