SPEAKER_01 0:13

Hello, and welcome back to Empower Your Menopause. We are the podcast that talks about all things health, happiness, and hormones for women over 40. We're coaches Julie and James from Fabulous Beyond 40, and we're really happy to have you here again today. We're going to be diving into some new research that's just come out about ultra-processed foods and what it might mean for your body in midlife, because this is really important. We're going to cover some things that hopefully will interest you. Certainly, this is something I am uber passionate about and have been for a long time. First of all, what does this big new study on ultra-processed food actually say? What counts as an ultra-processed food? They may be calling them UPFs, but we'll call them ultra-processed foods because you need to remember that. But what does that what does that mean in normal language? And we'll give you some examples so you have an idea of what we're looking at. How these might affect your organ systems, your menopause symptoms, and other long-term health issues, because especially in menopause, these are really important. And then what do you have to give them completely up? We'll give you a spoiler right here. The answer is no, and we'll explain what that looks like. And then we'll talk about some simple and realistic swaps that you can make even when your life is really chaotic. So let's get into it. James, why does this matter? Like talk about the headline. This was a pretty exciting study that came out.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Yeah, so the reason for doing this podcast is down some new research that was published this week in a medical journal called The Lancet. So they did a really large, or really large study, it was done by some scientists, and it was published in The Lancet, this medical journal, saying that ultra-processed foods are linked to harm in pretty much every major organ system. Now we've talked before about the size of scientific studies and how the size kind of determines how that reflects later on in real life. So this is one of these studies that's looked at loads of other different studies and covered conclusions. So they looked at 104 different long-term studies into ultra-processed foods. And of those 104 studies, 92 of them found higher risks for at least one chronic disease or early death that was linked in some way, shape, or form with higher ultra processed food intake. So why are two menopause coaches talking about this? Well, the diseases on that list heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, weight gain, poor sleep are exactly the things women are already more vulnerable to in perimenopause and beyond, of course. So it's worth saying before we go on, I think, and before anybody switches off and thinks it's just two people talking about ultra-processed foods again, that we know how this can affect everyone. You know, I note myself, I occasionally submit to the emergency freezer meal. If you know life's chaotic, I have the occasional protein bar when I need something quick, and we've all had those dreaded snacks when you're stuck at an airport and you can't find anything else, for instance, and you have to just buy something that maybe doesn't serve your health uh aims. And so it's worth saying that you know if you're having ultra-processed foods in your diet in some way, shape, or form, it's not the end of the world, but let's delve into this, and I suppose the key starting point is let's talk about what ultra-processed foods actually are. Julie, what are they?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yes, this is one of my favorite topics. So let's start with a simple definition, right? Ultra-processed foods are industrial products that are made mostly from cheap ingredients and food-like powders, I will say, plus a load of chemical additives. They are lab designed to be tasty and very convenient and highly profitable. They're not designed to keep you feeling full or to keep you healthy. So let's contrast that with minimally processed foods, I can speak today, um, like fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, plain oats, beans, natural yogurts, the things that we promote with all of our clients. And there are some foods that are, I mean, there aren't very many foods that are not processed in some way, right? You're not just going to go chew on a cow or a steer out in the field, right? So meat has to be processed. But we're talking about chemically processed, chemically enhanced foods. There are some foods that are minimally processed, but generally okay, things like tinned tomatoes, as long as the only ingredient in the can is tomato, naturally processed and crew and made cheeses, frozen vegetables that again don't have anything added to them, bread that comes from a bakery or that you actually make yourself, and things like jar beans, things that have a single ingredient. So ultra-processed foods, the way to recognize them, because we hope you're all label readers by now, they have industrial formulations of ingredients that you wouldn't have in your home kitchen. You wouldn't cook with them. These are things like isolates and emulsifiers and dyes and artificial colors and flavors. So these things are engineered to extend the shelf life of the food, to make them super, super palatable so that you can't have just one thing, right? It makes it really hard to stop eating. They spend a lot of money in designing these foods for exactly that. Your labels will also have lots of ingredients that end in OSE, which it signifies a sugar. And by the way, interesting factoid, there are 257 different names for sugar that are used on product labels. So you may not recognize all of them, but it's a good way to disguise how much sugar is actually in something. Other things like eights and eights, like nitrates, nitrites, those kinds of things, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and even natural flavorings aren't actually natural. There are a lot of things that can be listed as natural that really aren't. So things with organic logos, by the way, don't cancel the thought of ultra-processing. An organic ready meal made with various gums and isolates and sweeteners still behaves like an ultra-processed food for your body. So some examples of these things are going to be breakfast cereals, especially the sugary ones with cartoon characters, your flavored diet or dessert yogurts. A lot of the, as a matter of fact, I was working with a client who bought a whole case of healthy yogurt that had fruit in it. And when she looked at this little tiny pot of yogurt, it had 47 grams of sugar in it, which is like what 12 teaspoons or something. I mean, in a tiny, that's it's just incredible. Things like crisps, obviously, and chips and packered packaged snacks that are on the savory side, fizzy drinks and energy drinks, whether they have sugar or artificial sweeteners, and a lot of those ready-made meals that you get in the freezer or in a box, and things like nuggets and instant noodles and packaged pastries. And especially, I hate to tell you this, vegans, but plant-based pretend meats, I say that in air quotes for those who can't see me, with really long labels of ingredients to make something plant-based pretend to be a meat-like product. Now, a lot of critics of the study and critics of ultra-processed food categories in general say that it's way too broad. But the consistency of associations of ultra-processed foods across countries and different research methods is why so many major journals are finally saying we shouldn't ignore this. It's been sort of shoved under the rug for a long time, but especially in the UK and the US, they found that more than half of the average person's calories now come from ultra-processed foods. I mean, think about that. Half. And in some groups, it's much higher, as high as 80%. So this isn't about just having a biscuit or having a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps now and now and again. It's about a whole pattern that we have brought into our entire life. So now you know what ultra-processed foods are. James, let's dig a little further into the research because I know this is totally your jam. What is it? What is it saying?

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Okay, so let's try and distill what this study says down in some core findings. So, by the way, we're not yet digging into how this affects you in menopause. This is just the general population right now. So people who eat the most ultra-processed foods tend to have a higher risk of obesity and weight gain, a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, a higher risk of heart disease and dying from heart problems, more depression, more mental health issues, more sleep problems, and a higher overall risk of earlier death. So that's quite a lot of different things that can result from overconsumption of over-processed foods. There's one study that's mentioned in the in the trial where people lived in a lab for two weeks, and one group were given an ultra-processed diet, and another group weren't given an ultra-processed diet. The ones who were given the ultra-processed diet ate about 500 calories a day more without even trying, and they gained weight, even though the meals were matched for calories on paper. So, same calories in theory, a really different effect in real life when it came to weight gain for these people. So let me go by that again. Same amount of calories on paper in each of those things, but the people who were eating ultra-processed ate 500 uh calories more a day and gained more weight. So there is a little bit of nuance here, okay, because not all studies are created equal. So the 102 plus studies that they looked at are mainly observational studies, and that means they show patterns rather than perfect proof of cause and effect for every single condition that we just mentioned. Number two, as Julie said, ultra-process is a really broad category, and as we always talk about these things, there is a continuum, and we'll talk about where you can sit on that continuum later on in the podcast. But basically, country after country, study after study, the pattern is incredibly consistent when it comes to ultra-processed foods, which is why these big medical journals are now saying we shouldn't ignore them. So that's a bit more about the research and study in general. So, Julie, why don't you take us through why the results of this study in ultra-processed foods is important for our listeners who are in the menopause transition?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Yeah, sure. And you know, this is a phase of life where we already know about all of these different things that we're experiencing: symptom load and stress and difficulty sleeping and whatnot. Let's start with the thing that most women come to us complaining about, which is weight gain, that menopause belly, and blood sugar balance, right? Because ultra-processed foods are really easy to overeat. They have very low protein, if any, they have low fiber, if any, and they are extremely palatable, meaning it just completely hijacks everything about your appetite regulation. It's easy to eat an entire packet of crisps without thinking about it, but you wouldn't do that with a big old bag of broccoli at the same time. So, in the menopause context, right, estrogen is already falling, which naturally uh deposits more fat around your midsection, hence that menopause belly, because it needs your body needs that to produce the kind of estrogen that lasts through postmenopause. Um, but it also reduces the loss of estrogen, also reduces insulin sensitivity. So it tends to make us have more of that menobelly. And when you start having more ultra-processed foods, it piles that on top. It also gives you less stable blood sugar balance, so you've got a lot of more highs and lows and crashes. And it also can intensify your menopause symptoms, like hot flushes, right? Because of those blood sugar swings and some of the other things that are actually in. So if you find you're having lots of afternoon slumps, you've got loads of cravings after dinner, maybe you just feel like I have to have something sweet or I want to munch within an hour or two after dinner, or even that sort of puffy feeling that seems kind of new at this phase of life, that can all be related back to menopause, plus now it's it's uh intensified with ultra-processed foods. We're looking at heart and blood vessels, right? Because after menopause, heart disease becomes the big long-term risk for women. It's it's something we have to pay attention to. And since high ultra-processed food diets are linked with more heart attacks and strokes and higher blood pressure and worse cholesterol patterns, it's it's not that hard to connect the dots, right? So if you're in midlife, thinking about your heart isn't something for the future that that you know you may have to worry about one day. This is stuff that that matters now because what you're doing now in your lifestyle, what you're eating now is laying down that foundation for what happens over the next 20 to 30 years of your life. Because we have to remind ourselves that menopause can take up 20 to 30 years or more of our lifespan. Then we get into brain and mood and sleep. The studies that link heavy ultra-processed food intake uh with more depression and anxiety and worse sleep quality, are these anything, anything sounding familiar? Because these are, again, that blood sugar roller coaster, you're wired and you're tired, you have more 3 a.m. wakeups, you have that constant low-grade inflammation that doesn't help anything in your body, let alone your mood or your brain. And there's that gut brain access we've talked about in other episodes, where your microbiome has a direct effect on your immune system, it has a direct effect on your brain function. And if your microbiome is living on these pretend foods and all of these additives, it's not going to support your brain function or your mood. So if you're already on that roller coaster with your hormones and you know, struggling with sleep, having your diet built on ultra-processed foods could really be turning the volume up on all of that for you. And then we'll go to muscles and bones and joints, because we all get a little more creaky, right? During menopause, the loss of muscle mass speeds up a bit, our bone density drops as a result, especially if we're not strength training. And joints can generally feel creakier. And since ultra-processed foods are typically tied to a lower protein and micronutrient-poored eating pattern and diet, this is bad news when we talk about the risk of sarcopenia um increasing as it does in uh in midlife. And that's, you know, again, when we get back to the ultra-processed food diet, it's the same thing. And so it makes it harder to build and keep muscle. We're not feeding our bones and our muscles and our bodies what they need, have more aches and pains, and feeling a bit older than we need to, you'll you may find that if you can cut back on these things, you will lose some of those aches and pains. I know certainly it affects me personally. I can always tell when I've had a bit of extra sugar or something in a packet within the next 24 hours, it makes a difference. So then when we talk about gut health and inflammation, the emulsifiers that they use and the sweeteners and the other additives, and by the way, there are over 10,000 additives that are permitted in the US food system. In Europe, that's four that number is 438. That at the last time I checked. I'm not sure about the UK. I need to look into that, but you can tell it's this it's a significant difference. But either way, these are things that can change your microbiome, they can affect that gut barrier, right? And make you feel really bloated. And if you struggle with IBS or anything like that with your digestive system, that could be a big factor. So a diet built on ultra-processed foods is going to make your body grumpy, it's going to make your gut grumpy, and it might just make you grumpy. So it all of this to say that eating a diet that's high in ultra-processed food is going to push a lot of the same buttons that are already being pushed in menopause and things that we don't need to be pushing any harder on. So what you might have gotten away with when you were in your 20s, your body isn't going to be quite as forgiving about now that you're in your 40s or 50s or beyond. So, so James, can we never ever have ultra-processed foods again?

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Let me answer that with a simple word. No. You can have ultra-processed foods sometimes. It's important to try and sort of avoid this whole idea of all or nothing where we totally ban different foodstuffs or whatever. So let's say this really clearly: it does not mean that you're a failure if you ever eat something from a packet that's been ultra-processed again. And we as a company believe very, very strongly, and as two health coaches that work in this space, we don't have an expectation that women who are already juggling work and kids and parents and pets and life must cook absolutely every meal from scratch. We know that that's not possible. Why we talk about things on a continuum? And about why we talk about things like the 80-20 rule. So you know if you're hitting your targets 80% of the time, you're doing well, 20% of the time allowing yourself that extra little bit of playtime, then that's fine. But also, in the context of a really super healthy and health-giving diet, if you have the occasional protein shake, that is going to help you reach your goals, despite that protein shake likely being what would be considered an ultra-processed food. So let's talk about some red flags then. The kind of things that we should want to downgrade if we can, especially if these are consumed daily. So sugary drinks and energy drinks. As Julie said before, doesn't matter whether they're low-calorie, in fact, low-calorie stuff is actually worse because then you've got another fake chemical ingredient there in that artificial sweetener. Yeah. So sugary drinks, energy drinks. Those really huge, sort of like super family-sized bags of crisps and sweets. Fast food and deep-fried takeaways. You have the occasional portion fish and chips or the occasional McDonald's when you're rushing back from taking the girls to play soccer or whatever it may be. That's not a challenge. But if you're having fast food a couple of times a week, it's really challenging. Things like processed meats and pies. And yes, I as Julie said before, including those fake meats that are designed to grow in a supposed healthy vegan eater into eating them. My favourite, when I say favourite, I say that in vertical comments, my most hated one is facon, which is fake bacon rolled into one words and neologism, and it's full of rubbish and tastes like chew leather. So cheap processed meats, pies, all those fake vegan alternatives. Super sugary breakfast cereals and yogurts that essentially dessert. Good, fresh, healthy, full fat, Greek yogurt, absolutely fine. Packed with protein, packed with good fats, packed with bacteria, with good bacteria, packed with calcium for your birds. Really, really good. A yogurt, as Julie said before, that's got 47 grams of sugar in it in a small pot. You can't see me if you're listening to this, but I'm holding my fingers quite small and close together in a small pot. That is too much. And then most of those ping in the microwave and hope ready meals that you can get, even if they're the supposed healthy ones that many supermarkets have that like have this high protein thing, just ding it in a microwave and you'll be packed with protein. It might be packed with protein, but there'll be loads of other crap in there as well. So they're the kind of things that are red flags in the kindest way. If you have one occasionally, it's not a big deal. If you have it all the time, it starts to become a big deal. So let's talk about the Things that are technically ultra-processed, then, but can be helpful in a healthy sportive lifestyle. So good quality protein powder, a plain creatine, some fortified high fibre wholemeal breads and cereals, occasional plant milks in yogurts that have got high protein and super low sugar in them, and certainly convenience foods that might just have short, sensible, sensible ingredient lists. So the key thing to think about is not is this perfect, it's does this help me build a mostly whole food health-giving pattern, or is it just helping me eat more ultra-processed food? Because that's kind of the question you want to ask yourself. Then we've also got some real life convenience foods that I think are absolutely fine. So they're processed but they're helpful. Things like frozen veggie mixers. Yeah, most virgin vegetables these days are just picked straight from the field, stuck straight into a really high freezer. When they're defrosted, they're almost as fresh as the moment they were picked. Tinned beans and lentils, because who's got time to sit and soak those from dried ones? Nobody has, right? The occasional microwave pack of say brown rice or quinoa that's already pre-cooked. I'd avoid the microwave if you can, but you're right, it's not the worst thing in the world when it comes to these kinds of things, if you're pushed for time. Stuff like rotisserie chickens that you might get from the supermarket, you know, the ones that go around on the spit again and again and again, or some plain pre-cooked chicken and jarred tomato sauces that have got short and recognizable ingredients. As Julie said, you want the main ingredient there to actually be guess what? Tomatoes would be really, really helpful. So let's just say if you didn't a slice of rotisserie chicken, a bit of frozen veg, and some packet rice, that's a win, especially in the context of the lifestyle of a busy woman in menopause. It's not a failure just because it came out of packets. Now, Julie, you're the labelling queen. So why don't you talk about that and perhaps a few other easy wins that listeners can adopt and adapt when it comes to putting ultra-processed foods or not into their healthy rods?

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Yeah, and that's this. Oh, I I could talk about this for days, but I'll keep it short. Um, first of all, the ingredient list. Is it written in a paragraph? Is it 25 different ingredients? Do you not recognize half of them? Um, that's probably a clue. Ideally, you'll be able to recognize the ingredients as actual food, and there won't be very many of them. That's ideal. Especially look out for additives, um, sweeteners, different kinds of sugars, look for that OSE, emulsifiers, stabilizers, flavorings. Um, anything with flavorings that doesn't identify what it is is probably processed. There are also multiple different ways to label monosodium glutamate, which isn't necessarily a terrible thing on its own, but when it's added in in big quantities. When you're looking at the ingredient list, generally speaking, the regulations state that the first ingredient is what it contains the most of, and they um go down in order from there. So look at those first five ingredients. I mean, ideally there won't be more than five, but if there are more than five, look at those first five. Are they actual food? Um if it's mostly powders and syrups and processed and hydrolyzed and this, that, and the other, then you might want to think twice and pass on those things. Um, and again, an occasional, you know, I like an occasional indulgence as much as anybody else. So I'm we're not judging here, but ideally, 85-80% of the time, you're gonna keep these things out of your daily intake. Simple swaps, right? These are some ideas, these aren't um instructions, but just some ideas. Instead of sugary cereals, maybe make some overnight oats, maybe have an oatmeal or a coconut porridge that you can mix with fruits and nuts, or have egg on toast or avocado toast as some people like. For lunch, instead of pastries and crisps, look at something like a pre-bought base salad base. You know, you can get some nice bagged salads with fresh vegetables that are pre-washed, with some beans and some rotisserie chicken on them. These are easy to throw together fairly quickly. Don't take a lot of your time. For snacks, if you can steer clear of biscuits and candy and sweets, try nuts and fresh fruits, maybe cheese and oat cakes or rice cakes, uh, boiled eggs, plain yogurt with your own toppings added. You can't ever, we're not saying you can't ever add something to your yogurt, but start with plain yogurt because it's going to be a lot better for you. And then those dinners when those are those nights when, oh my gosh, I just don't have the energy to do anything. That's where your good enough formula can come in. So in get yourself a good serving of protein, whether that's from a store-bought rotisserie chicken or some fish you can cook up really quickly, scramble a couple of eggs or some uh cook up some tofu, whatever you might be. Frozen vegetables are fine if you're in a hurry. And then an easy carb, something like a quick potatoes or packeted rice, like James talked about before, whole grain pasta, those things will cook up pretty quickly and make a nice meal for you without having to go to the takeout menu. So let's challenge our listeners with a little experiment. Over the next two weeks, just start to pay attention to those eating patterns and those, especially on those busy, tired days. Keep any treats in there that you genuinely love, enjoy them slowly and mindfully, but aim to build most of your meals on real protein. We say emphasize real protein here and plants first, and then limit the obvious ultra-processed choices to maybe once a day. And see how you feel, see how that changes your energy and your sleep and your symptoms, especially the the flushes. Um it's yeah, it's it's a simple experiment to try. I won't say it's easy, but it's uh a simple experiment to try. At least it will bring awareness into what you're actually putting into your body. So we could go on all day, as I said, very passionate about this, and I'm so glad it's finally getting some attention. But uh, James, should we wrap it up there for now?

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah, sure. Let's let's just go over then three clear takeaways that you can repeat. And when I say takeaways, I don't mean a takeout from a fast food joint. So the new research is pretty loud, it's a pretty loud alarm bell that diets built heavily on ultra-processed foods are linked to much worse health outcomes across the board. Because menopause already nudges things like weight and blood sugar and mood and sleep and heart health all in the wrong direction, midlife is a particularly powerful time to shift away, if you can, from a diet that's heavy in ultra-processed foods. And number three, most of all, you don't need perfection, you need a gentle balance, you need more real food, you need fewer ultra-processed red flag foods, and some smart convenience helpers that work for your real life. Julie, take it home.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

All right. Well, if you're listening to this and thinking, right, this is me, oh my gosh, my diet might be a little bit too packet heavy, and I don't even know where to start. Um, that's exactly the kind of thing that we help women with on every day. So, one of the best steps you can take is to book a menopause impact assessment call with us. And that's something where we will use a validated questionnaire, we'll go through your main symptoms, we'll see your what your lifestyle is currently like and your current eating pattern, and we can help you spot where those ultra-processed foods and other habits might be driving that low energy or weight changes or mood struggles or sleep sleep struggles that you're having. We'll help you identify your biggest what we call levers for the next two to three months, and then we'll give you a simple personalized action plan that actually fits around your work and your family and everything else on your plate. We're not going to give you a 12-part assignment. We'll keep this very, very simple. So if you want some expertise on your menopause jigsaw puzzle, go to the link in the show notes, which is impact.fabulousbeyond40.com, to book your assessment call. We currently have a Black Friday special deal where the cost of that is just 10 pounds or about 13 US dollars, which is more than a 50% discount. Um, but we only have limited slots available. So you can book in again at impact.fabulousbeyond40.com.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

Great. Thanks, Julie, and well done for those of you who are listening and don't know. Julie's been battling with a cold all week. So I'm glad that you managed to make it through this session without any coughs or splutterers. I think it's time for you to have a hot bath and get into bed, Julie. Well done for battling through it. So that's it for this week, then. We'll see you on the next episode. In the meantime, we've been James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40 saying stay strong and stay fabulous. And we will see you next time. Take care.