Fast food has simplistic eating habits, but it comes at a cost because it lacks essential nutrients and therefore fails to trigger fullness signals – the reason why you can always seem to eat more potato chips.
According to researchers, some ultra-processed foods undergo “pre-digestion” so you feel less satisfied compared to eating whole foods, leading to overeating and health problems such as obesity.
Chris van Tulleken, a virologist at University College London, explains: “Cereal bars, breakfast cereals, ice cream or confectionery – they all start with the same basic ingredients.” This illusion of food is created by manufacturers breaking down corn, wheat and potatoes into molecular ” porridge”.
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Industry association Starch Europe notes that nearly half of these slurries are used to make starch-based sugars through a process similar to digestion, where manufacturers add ingredients and flavors using industrial machinery to create a wide variety of processed foods.
Meanwhile, Dr. David Katz, an expert in preventive medicine, warned that this consumption of processed foods can contribute to health problems such as obesity and cancer.
Still, avoiding predigested foods is challenging in a country where they dominate the food supply, as studies show they make up 73% of the American diet—providing over 60% of the average adult’s daily calories.
