The science about UPFs is without doubt important, but the advice to cut them out entirely is wrong. We need to acknowledge that it’s just not
possible for everyone. While some UPFs are linked to a growing number of health problems, this certainly is not the case for all UPFs. This is the start of the problem. The media (including social media) loves to generalise – and when we generalise nutrition, we lose the nuance. Saying that all UPFs increase the risk of chronic diseases is incorrect science and amounts to scaremongering.

  1. Food Foundation. The Broken Plate: The State of the Nation’s Food System (2023). Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2023
  2. Food Foundation. Dietary inequalities worsened in last two years as healthier foods grew more expensive. 2024. Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/press-release/dietary-inequalities-worsened-last-two-years-healthier-foods-grew-more-expensive
  3. Food Foundation. Food Prices Tracker (2025). Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/news/food-prices-tracker-february-2025
  4. Corfe S. Food deserts in the UK. Social Market Foundation (2018). Available at: https://www.resolvepoverty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Food-deserts-in-the-UK.pdf

About the Author: Priya Tew, RD

Priya is a Specialist Eating Disorders and IBS Dietitian. She runs Dietitian UK, works with the media and is the author of The DASH Diet and The Complete Low FODMAP Diet Plan.

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The science about UPFs is without doubt important, but the advice to cut them out entirely is wrong. We need to acknowledge that it’s just not
possible for everyone. While some UPFs are linked to a growing number of health problems, this certainly is not the case for all UPFs. This is the start of the problem. The media (including social media) loves to generalise – and when we generalise nutrition, we lose the nuance. Saying that all UPFs increase the risk of chronic diseases is incorrect science and amounts to scaremongering.

  1. Food Foundation. The Broken Plate: The State of the Nation’s Food System (2023). Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2023
  2. Food Foundation. Dietary inequalities worsened in last two years as healthier foods grew more expensive. 2024. Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/press-release/dietary-inequalities-worsened-last-two-years-healthier-foods-grew-more-expensive
  3. Food Foundation. Food Prices Tracker (2025). Available at: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/news/food-prices-tracker-february-2025
  4. Corfe S. Food deserts in the UK. Social Market Foundation (2018). Available at: https://www.resolvepoverty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Food-deserts-in-the-UK.pdf

About the Author: Priya Tew, RD

Priya is a Specialist Eating Disorders and IBS Dietitian. She runs Dietitian UK, works with the media and is the author of The DASH Diet and The Complete Low FODMAP Diet Plan.

Leave A Comment

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