Ultra-Processed PeopleChris van Tulleken
Ultra-Processed People
by Chris van Tulleken · first published 2023
25mentions
12recommended by
21HN commenters
2023–2026first – last mentioned
57% recommend43% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Collects studies suggesting highly processed food is less healthy even when nutrient content matches whole foods, and makes the UPF label practical. Suits readers wanting evidence rather than diet rules.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I can highly recommend the book Ultra-processed People by Chris van Tulleken about what UPF does (and doesn't) do with our bodies. And if you don't want to read the book, here's a ~1h video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOTBreQaIk talking about UPF. You…
on “From anxiety to cancer, the evidence against ultra-processed food piles up” ↗Contra this article, I'd highly recommend the book it mentions: Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken. It collates a lot of good studies and evidence that highly processed food is less healthy in and of itself, even if macro- and micronutrient composition is identical. It also covers…
on “Are Ultra-Processed Foods All That Unhealthy?” ↗To the extent that people are curious about the definition of ultra-processed foods, I recommend Chris Van Tulleken’s book “Ultra Processed People.” From it, I got the sense that the real emphasis is on this aspect of the NOVA definition: “Ultra-processed foods are operationally distinguishable from processed foods by the presence of food substances…
on “Ultra-processed foods need tobacco-style warnings, says scientist” ↗Interesting read about how consuming essential elements repackaged isn't the same as eating them in their original form: https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Processed-People-Science-Behind... It has an interesting quote about fish oil. > Fish oil doesn't benefit us, but oily fish do.
on “The Limited Value of Multivitamin Supplements” ↗…food is no longer made by people. It is made by companies who make money taking the cheapest ingredients, reconstituting and selling it as 'food'. I recommend reading this book https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Processed-People-Science-Behind... (or the audiobook) to learn what makes our 'food' so much worse than 50 years ago. If you want something more moving, this is good documentary by the same the doctor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOTBreQaIk
on “Older Americans Are About to Lose a Lot of Weight” ↗Related: I'm reading the book Ultra Processed People right now, and thoroughly recommend it. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62586003-ultra-processed...)
on “After 155 years, the Campbell Soup company is changing its name” ↗I'd recommend "Ultra processed people" be van Tulleken. He references the relevant studies, doesn't try to convince you to change your diet but gives enough food for thought. ;)
on “Ultra-processed foods make up more than 60% of us kids' diets” ↗The book Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken really opened my eyes about UPF. I highly recommend it. Here is a video of him delivering a lecture at the royal institution about the topic: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j1oOoYnCfJs…
on “How America got hooked on ultraprocessed foods” ↗…life and changed me at least a little bit. - In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan. A brilliant "not diet" book about not eating crap and enjoying chocolate cake with your friends. I followed this up with Ultra Processed People to arm myself with the facts to defend not eating the junk people call food. - The Dispossesed - Ursula Le Guin: recommended in previous year's HN what did you reads. An absolutely triumph for how it…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified starches and protein isolates)..." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_classification I highly recommend Chris van Tulleken's Ultra-processed people for a more indepth read on this fat correlation (excuse the pun :))
on “Eat Real Food – Introducing the New Pyramid” ↗…Xantan gum. Using Xantan gum is a sign of ultra processing. It's used to change mouth-feel, which is basically lying to the body. I always recommend people to read / listen to https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Processed-People-Science-Behind... to understand these ingredients and what they do to our bodies.
on “How the Sriracha guys screwed over their supplier” ↗Can believe that, but there is more to such additives than cancer. The book Ultra-Processed People https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/books/review/ultra-proces... makes clear the danger from such chemicals in our food.
on “Why a cancer scare around aspartame is mostly unfounded” ↗yes, the book Ultra-Processed People https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/books/review/ultra-proces... does that quite well.
on “Why a cancer scare around aspartame is mostly unfounded” ↗If interested in Ultra Processed Foods, of which enriched foods usually are UPF, you can check out a good book called Ultra Processed People. It's not definitive, but it makes a compelling argument that while we don't know why exactly, processed foods containing the same nutrients as their whole brethren have deterious effects on our long…
on “Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure by changing oral microbiome: study” ↗This was my gut response too, I reluctantly read "Ultra-Processed People" after it was mentioned by so many people, expecting to find it annoying for this exact reason. I was actually massively surprised by how helpful a label ultra-processed can be, even if there are edge…
on “California passes law to ban ultra-processed foods from school lunches” ↗