Breaking the rules Response to the dialogue around Ultra Processed Food
At Breaking The Rules we support clients to be their whole, complex, healthful, perfectly-imperfect selves. We challenge disordered food and exercise culture, and rules in people’s lives that stop them thriving. We have been intrigued by the recently emerging 'Ultra Processed Food Culture' - as a complicated and interesting topic in its own right, but particularly as we are seeing its unhelpful consequences in our clinic rooms.
A brief note on terminology. We are coining the term 'Ultra Processed Food Culture' to capture the range of apps, books, products and social media accounts that focus exclusively on the risks associated with Ultra Processed Foods.
Let us be clear: we agree with key elements of Ultra Processed Food Culture
Whole foods bring vital nutrients and benefits that are important for one’s mental and physical health
Eating exclusively processed food can have negative effects on one’s physical and mental health
However, anyone working with people to support healthful nutrition knows that it is never helpful to blame and shame. This only results in one feeling negative about what one eats, and developing yet more worrisome eating. It is also confusing and not helpful to talk about the food and not about the complexities of the body and lifestyles.
We also know that the body (with rare exceptions) is robust. Bodies can handle some processed foods. By 'some' we mean sometimes often and sometimes sometimes – this includes periods in one’s life when eating more processed foods plays an important part in wellbeing, safety and recovery.
In clinic we have seen time and time again clients, already facing great difficulty in their lives, take numerous steps back in their recovery journey because of their interpretation of Ultra Processed Food Culture. Our clients often carry a deep sense of fear and mistrust of their bodies, and are therefore strongly attracted to people/companies telling them how to manage their bodies. Often clients struggle to feel or connect to their physical needs and, understandably, there is (temporary) relief to be found in being told 'what to do'. When approached through an already disordered lens, which tells us that the body cannot be trusted and must be controlled, Ultra Processed Food Culture becomes yet another way to disconnect, act out or deprive oneself.
Let's give you an example:
We are seeing clients arrive in clinic telling us that they are now eating even less than their already too little, having “cottoned on” to the fact that some of what they were eating is a bit processed and therefore criticised by Ultra Processed Food Culture. The small quantities of processed food they were eating had previously offered an important source of extra energy and some nutrients, at a time when few foods felt 'safe' or accessible. On balance, the exclusion of processed foods and the further restriction to an already limited diet causes us much more concern than any small consumption of processed foods ever could. The 'too little' consumption can have serious consequences such as: too low blood sugar; severe dips in mood and cognitive processing; increased anxiety; lack of sleep (waking hungry with low blood sugar and even feeling disorientated); bingeing due to excessive hunger or not meeting nutritional needs; experiencing digestive issues due to lack of bulk in the diet and so on.
Yes one can argue that these are people who already have issues with disordered eating. Yet who wants to add fuel to the fire and make already vulnerable people yet more vulnerable? We hear people say “yes, but these books and products are not for people who have issues with their eating”. Our response: it is our educated guess that the authors and creators of these books and products have made millions from people who have disordered approaches to food and exercise and/or full blown eating disorders. People with calm and balanced attitudes to their food and bodies are just not that interested!
We feel saddened that those driving Ultra Processed Food Culture have spent so much of their time and energy on this topic, when there are more pressing issues around food, and that would have a more positive effect on the nation’s health. These are clever, well resourced people, often privileged white men. We believe they could use their power and resources for deep, lasting good.
We urge those promoting Ultra Processed Food Culture to be more involved in issues such as:
Food access - including the provision of food banks
Mental health issues - often resulting in poor self-care and an over reliance on processed foods / inadequate eating / addictive behaviours
Destructive diet culture - notably on social media and in the wider media as a whole
Violence against women and children - keeping women and children in vulnerable situations resulting in them being less able to attend to nourishing self-care or live whole & safe lives.
Issues around equal and equitable pay – notably for those in caring professions – preventing people from affording a more balanced diet.
At Breaking The Rules we have a whole-person approach of caring for one’s self and one’s family, we understand that shaming one’s attraction (whether that is gastronomic or lifestyle) to processed foods is not the solution. Instead we support our clients to thrive within the complexities of their individual lives without avoiding, criticising or putting a rule on anything.