Ultra-Processed People

Why We Can't Stop Eating Food That Isn't Food

By: Chris van Tulleken

Narrated by: Chris van Tulleken, Dr. Xand van Tulleken

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

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 Yorker • Smithsonian • Daily Mail • The Guardian • Financial 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

Critic reviews

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

eye opening

fantastic narration of a great summary outlining what should be obvious to us all but isn't.

Eye-opening

Extremely only eye-opening book about what is put into your food and what is by proxy being put into your body. I recommend everybody listen to this book.