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Gavin Wren, a food policy expert, takes on the challenge of following a different diet every month.
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He tried eating only highly processed foods, but gave up after five days.
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He told Business Insider that the diet left him feeling “sluggish” and depressed.
A food policy expert who challenged himself to eat only highly processed foods for a month as part of an experiment gave up after just five days.
Gavin Wren, a UK-based TikToker who shares insights on food politics, is on a quest to find the best diet for himself that makes him feel good, allows him to socialize, and offers good value for money. For a whole month, he tried common diets, including vegan, paleo, Mediterranean, and ultra-processed foods.
He told Business Insider that he liked the vegan and Mediterranean diets the best, but that the pure UPF diet was the worst.
Many people eat UPFs every day. A 2023 study published in The BMJ found that UPFs make up nearly 60% of the diets of people in the UK and US. And 73% of the US food supply is highly processed, according to a 2023 study published in Nature Communications.
Although UPFs are difficult to avoid because they are so ubiquitous, experts advise people to limit their consumption as much as possible, as UPFs have been linked to health problems such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health issues.
It’s easy to eat too many highly processed foods
Wren normally eats mostly whole foods and cooks all of his own meals. At first, he said he “really enjoyed” indulging in foods he doesn’t normally eat, such as chips, fast food and cake.
But within the first few days of the experiment, Wren noticed that he was consuming “excessive amounts” of calories as well as “sky-high” amounts of fat and sugar.
“A pack of Pringles is addictive,” he said. “So I would just eat half of it, put it aside and say, ‘Okay, I’ll save that for another time,’ and then half an hour later I would sit there and eat the whole pack.”
A scientist previously explained to BI how UPF companies make their food irresistible.
Wren’s experience of eating more on the UPF diet is consistent with the results of a 2019 study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, which found that people consumed about 500 kcal more per day when they ate only UPFs rather than whole foods. The researchers also compared calories, energy density, macronutrients, fiber, sugar and sodium of the processed and whole foods meals the participants ate, but found that the UPFs still contained more added sugar and saturated fat.
Kevin Hall, the study’s lead author, previously told BI how his team is trying to figure out exactly why UPFs cause overeating in people.
His mood, energy and mental health continued to decline
On the third day of the diet, Wren woke up with a “hangover-like” feeling, even though he hadn’t drunk any alcohol. He had little energy, felt sluggish and “didn’t feel very good,” he said.
“After a few days, my mood, energy and mental health started to deteriorate and it was a real struggle,” Wren said.
His experience echoes the results of a 2021 study published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health that found strong links between eating more fruits and vegetables and better mental well-being. And a 2019 study by researchers at the University of Paris suggested that the more UPFs people consume, the higher their risk of depression.
Work and gym became more difficult
“My brain really struggled to do normal things,” Wren said, meaning his work really suffered on the UPF diet. There isn’t much research on UPF consumption and concentration, but a 2022 study published in JAMA Neurology found a link between eating more UPFs and poorer brain function, as well as faster cognitive decline over a six- to 10-year period.
Wren also had trouble doing his usual workouts at the gym. “I would go to the gym and I would just be dead, have no energy or anything. I felt awful,” he said.
He was having “difficulty functioning normally,” so he gave up the UPF diet. Wren quickly realized that a diet based solely on highly processed foods was definitely not for him.
Read the original article on Business Insider
