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Ultra-Processed People cover art

Ultra-Processed People

Written by: Chris van Tulleken
Narrated by: Chris van Tulleken, Dr. Xand van Tulleken
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Publisher's Summary

THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NONFICTION • The bestselling and eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and impact of ultra-processed food.

With a new Afterword by the author.

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR • The Economist The Times • The New YorkerSmithsonian Daily MailThe GuardianFinancial Times • and more!

It's not you, it's the food.

How much of our daily caloric intake comes from ingesting substances that, technically speaking, do not meet traditional definitions of “food”? Chances are, if you’re eating something that came wrapped in plastic and contains a funky ingredient you don’t have in your kitchen, it's most likely—almost definitely—ultra-processed food, or UPF. More than the principal obstacle to “eating right,” UPF has been linked to metabolic disease, depression, inflammation, anxiety, and cancer, while the production, distribution, and disposal of UPF and related products globally is known to cause devastating environmental damage. At the same time, UPF represents the dominant, nigh-unavoidable food culture for millions upon millions of eaters.

Medical doctor and broadcaster Chris van Tulleken has spent his career trying to reframe the conversation around eating right, balancing the hard (and sometimes shocking) facts about what we're putting into our bodies with empathy for the natural desire to keep eating what we like, have time for, and can afford. As he argues in this book, we are all participants in an experiment we didn't consent to, one to determine how to get us to buy as much ultra-processed food as possible. It’s not as simple as stumbling across the right diet trend, finding time to meal plan, or avoiding over-indulging in sugar, fat, or carbs or any other culprit. Nor is it a matter of individual will. It’s about learning to live in “the third age of eating”—defined by the overwhelming abundance of ultra-processed eating options—and arming yourself with the simple and not-so-simple facts that will help you make the choices that are right for you.

©2023 Chris van Tulleken (P)2023 Knopf Canada

What the critics say

New York Times Bestseller

A New Yorker Best Books of 2023 So Far

An Economist Best Book of 2023

One of Smithsonian's Ten Best Books About Food of 2023

A Goodreads Choice Awards 2023 Nominee

An NPR 2023 "Books We Love" Pick 

“Unsettling and deeply important. . . . [Ultra-Processed People] integrate[s] concepts of detailed food science and global market forces, showing how these affect individual humans. Tulleken weaves these threads together in a way that is evidence-based, compelling and humane. . . . A tremendously important book that will help readers choose less processed, better food.”Vincent Lam, Toronto Star

“Deeply researched and persuasive.”New Statesman (UK)

“Chris van Tulleken bravely turns himself into a guinea pig to explore the ins and outs of ultra-processed food. . . . His account of what happens to our food during its trip to our gut, and the connection that bad food has to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes . . . is persuasive and scary.”—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

What listeners say about Ultra-Processed People

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  • JT
  • 2024-01-31

Great content; painful audio.

The content, pace, and tone of the book were excellent. Unfortunately, there must have been some kind of issue in the audio recording process because every word the narrator speaks sounds ‘wet’. You can hear mouth sounds throughout the narration. Makes the whole book difficult to listen to. Except for the interview portions where the audio is just fine.

I hope they can resolve this somehow as the content of the book is very good and should be a must-read for everyone.

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Factual

If you do anything for me this year. Listen to this beautiful example of food and human consumption and the fucked up ways that money drives the food industry to basically sell us food we become addicted too that is also killing us lol- and then fund research to lie about the facts .

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informative

This book touches all facets of why our food system is designed to fail. By reading this book it will formalize that thing you really already know In the back of your mind but refuse to acknowledge and makes it inescapable to adress. Read the book and pull back the curtain... it will change your life.

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Shocking and eye opening

Absolute must read - answered many questions I had about what’s in packaged food and confirmed a lot of observations I started to collect myself.

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Lovely read

I love how the author explained the science behind the food in relation to our body. It’s a must read. Very insightful book

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Very informative and well researched

Really enjoyed this deep dive into how modern “foods” vs traditional affect our bodies in much more complex ways than we are typically taught. A must listen!

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Very informative and well produced

This book was very well researched, and while some lines of argument can be a tad simplistic, they are generally on the mark for a popular science book.

The addition of conversations between the author and his brother are a very worthwhile and great addition to the audiobook, and provide additional colour and context and meaning (though a bit repetitive of the chapters they follow). Note: the audio on the first two conversations are not well mixed, and the author’s brother is hard to hear without turning volume to full.

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Very interesting topic

Cool perspective. A new way of looking at food and made me really think about how I fuel my body.

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Illuminating! A Must-Read!

Recommended for anyone who eats! I heard about this book on the radio and needed to know more. It should come as no surprise really to anyone that we humans eat too much “junk food”, but this book really brings to light that almost everything we eat in this day and age is crap..not just crap…it’s addictive crap and regulations on what can be sold as “food” is appalling…
Also, I love that this book is read by the author, himself. It has a podcast feel in that he has actual conversations with others during the reading. He held my interest throughout the entire book.

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“Industrially produced, edible substances”

What an eye opening account of the horrors of Big “Food”. Highly recommended for everyone.

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