Lexi Mayhew

“It’s soft and typically calorie dense, so you eat it at a rate that your body can’t keep up with when it comes to feeling full. Things like protein isolates, refined oils and modified carbohydrates are absorbed so quickly they may not even reach the part of the gut that sends the fullness signal to the brain. They’re not things you have evolved to eat. Some of the additives are well known to cause harm – be particularly aware of emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners. Emulsifiers can thin the mucus lining of the gut, allowing faecal bacteria to leak into the blood stream and inflaming your whole body. The non-nutritive sweeteners that tell your body sugar is coming but don’t supply any calories seem to cause metabolic stress and changes to the microbiome. Other additives that affect the microbiome are maltodextrins, modified starches and lots of the gums and thickeners. Flavour enhancers (glutamate, guanylate, inosinate and ribonucleotides on ingredient lists) drive excess consumption. Again, they tell your body a lie about the nutritional content of the food you’re eating when they’re added out of context.”
― Chris van Tulleken, Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food… and Why Can't We Stop?

“There were many many instances when, walking along the frost-covered sidewalks, I considered throwing myself into the rush of oncoming traffic. I didn’t really want to die; I was just tired, and so cold, and so lonely.”
― Francesca Ekwuyasi, Butter Honey Pig Bread

“…I’m embarrassed at how affected I feel by the children selling snacks on the road, mortified that I’ve been privileged enough to forget.”
― Francesca Ekwuyasi, Butter Honey Pig Bread

“Here is the inexorable logic of all industrial food: to reduce the time workers require for a meal.”
― Chris van Tulleken, Ultra-Processed People: Why We Can't Stop Eating Food That Isn't Food