‘Soft and calorie dense’: Chris van Tulleken on how ultra-processed foods keep us hooked

Dr Chris van Tulleken has been at the forefront of the campaign to
change our food system and better regulate the sale of
ultra-processed foods (UPF). This year he will be giving the Royal
Institution Christmas lectures, Britain’s most prestigious public
science lectures, in which he’ll be investigating how food has
fundamentally shaped human evolution, the importance of our
microbiome – as the extra ‘organ’ we didn’t know we had – and how
we can all eat better in future, for the sake of our own health and
the health of the planet. Nicola Davis sat down with Van Tulleken
to discuss the lectures, the challenge of understanding the impact
of UPFs on our health, and his top tip for Christmas dinner.
Madeleine Finlay hears from them both in this Christmas special
edition of Science Weekly. Help support our independent journalism
at theguardian.com/sciencepod