"The gut can heal when you stop scrubbing it with these food chemicals."
I've walked into the supermarket and spent an hour wandering the aisles, then walked out with nothing, because I couldn't find anything that wasn't ultra-processed. Every time I open the news, there's a new study about them, but it's not like the label says "ultra-processed" on the front. So on episode 5 of The Lee & Irene Show, my co-host, nutritionist Lee Holmes, and I opened what we called the UPF files.
You can listen to the full episode here:
What makes a food ultra-processed?
Some processing is fine. Lee describes it as "the things that your grandmother would recognise as cooking." Olive oil, a traditional sourdough and pickled veggies are all processed, "but it's a simple processing of simple ingredients, which are not too far from nature."
"Ultra processed foods, however, are an industrial science. This is where the food is broken down into chemical parts." The proteins, starches and fats are isolated, "and then they're reassembled with additives that you do not have in your kitchen." They're "engineered to be hyper palatable so you know you can't stop eating them and they have a shelf life that defies nature." As I said on the show, it's the Frankenstein of food.
Why emulsifiers are called "gut detergents"
Emulsifiers keep oils and water from separating. We call them gut detergents, because of what they do to your gut lining. "They break down the surface tension of your gut... the mucus lining of your gut and when that layer thins out and... becomes leaky that's when bacteria and toxins can slip through and trigger chronic inflammation."
The good news? When people with gut issues remove these additives, they "see a marked improvement... so the gut can heal when you stop scrubbing it with these food chemicals."
6 emulsifiers to avoid
The first step is to "flip the pack over, look at the ingredients list." These are the 6 to watch for: CMC (E466), polysorbate 80 (E433), carrageenan (E407), mono and diglycerides (E471), xanthan gum (E415) and soy lecithin (E322). "Not all emulsifiers are bad, but these ones are, and they're in a lot of foods."
Carrageenan surprised me. It comes from red seaweed, so it sounds natural. But seaweed on its own is fine. Once it's been processed and added to processed food, that's when it becomes a problem. It gives low-fat and dairy-free products "that creamy mouthfeel without the actual fat", and it's even in some cans of coconut milk. "Carrageenan is like pouring petrol onto a fire for your gut."
Where ultra-processed foods hide
Soft white supermarket bread that "stays fresh for two weeks" is a classic, because it contains emulsifiers and preservatives. So are almond and oat milks, which contain gums like guar gum and xanthan gum. The barista ones are "so creamy... because they have emulsifiers and stabilisers in them so they don't split." I used to drink plant milks to help my gut, so that one hit me.
Supermarket sourdough can have "15 or more ingredients", when "you only really need flour, water and salt." Store-bought hummus has "refined seed oils" and preservatives. And protein bars are "just candy bars dressed up with a lab-made protein isolate in them and a massive list of excipients and artificial sweeteners and flavours and gums and stabilisers." You're better off just having some chocolate.
Even gluten free isn't always the healthy choice. The modified starches in gluten-free mixes "act like energy quicksand so they're going to dump fast digesting carbs into your bloodstream."
Can you trust the Health Star Rating?
My husband shops by the stars, so I had to ask. Lee's answer: "Take the health star ratings with a massive grain of salt. Yeah, a lot of sugary cereals can get four stars."
Look for certified organic instead, "A-C-O or N-A-S-A-A in Australia, if you see the BUD logo", and the non-GMO logo. It's the same rule I use for skincare. If you're not sure, go for something Australian and certified organic, "because then the hard work is sort of done for you." And the fewer ingredients the better. "If you're looking at your label... and you see some things with like 15 plus ingredients, you know that it's probably going to have a lot of those things in it."
Simple swaps
"Just go for plain Greek yogurt with berries" instead of fruit yoghurts. Choose "a sourdough with three or four ingredients", or one from a bakery. Swap sodas for herbal tea or plain soda water. And make your own nut milk. "Just whiz it up in the blender and then put it through some kind of sieve."
Shop the outside of the supermarket, where the whole foods are, and buy in season. "It's not about being perfect, you know. It's just about trying to minimise the amount of ultra-processed foods that your body is handling."
Listen to the full episode
We also gave Justin a men's grooming plan, with Weleda Salt Toothpaste, KORA Organics Noni Glow Face Oil and a natural deodorant, and our listener Kate asked who to trust in health. You can listen to episode 5 on Spotify.
About the Author
Irene Falcone is the founder of Clean Nectarine and co-host of The Lee & Irene Show. She started her first clean beauty business in 2011 with $100 in her garage and grew it to $20m in four years. She has spent over 15 years reading the backs of beauty and wellness labels, is a Telstra Business Women's Awards winner and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and has been featured on A Current Affair, The Project, Sunrise, Channel Nine Mornings and Sky News.
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