- A diet high in ultra-processed foods has been linked to a range of health concerns
- Nutritionist Rob Hobson eats as few UPFs as possible, focusing on whole foods where he can.
- This is what his lunch looked like before and after making the change.
A nutritionist who limits ultra-processed foods in his diet as much as possible, and wrote a book on how others can do the same, shared what he used to eat for lunch versus what he has now.
Rob Hobson, a UK-based nutritionist, cut down on ultra-processed foods about a year ago after learning how many everyday items fell into this category and the potential health risks they could pose.
A diet high in UPFs has been linked to numerous health concerns, including certain types of cancer, type two diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Around 73% of the US food supply is ultra-processed, according to a 2024 research paper by Northeastern University's Network Science Institute, which hasn't been peer-reviewed.
Hobson counts UPFs as foods that contain five or more ingredients, many of which you wouldn't typically find in a regular kitchen. They are typically highly marketed, have a long shelf life, and are made to be ultra-palatable and, therefore, very moreish.
Hobson stressed that eliminating UPFs from your diet would be impossible and unnecessary and that some processed foods are more nutrient-dense than others.
"If I see a nice salad but it's got a dressing on it, I'm not going to eat the salad dry. So if it's just a little bit of something in the dressing, then so be it," he told Business Insider. "It's just about cutting down, rather than getting too paranoid and trying to cut everything out."
Hobson's diet was healthy before, and contained plenty of nutrients, fiber, and protein, but now he focuses more on eating whole foods and cooking from scratch.
He used to have a wholewheat bagel with ham and avocado
Before he reduced his UPF consumption, a typical lunch for Hobson was a wholewheat bagel with some sliced ham and avocado.
"I don't normally eat processed meat, but it's the easiest thing to grab if you're working in an office," he said.
Eating lots of processed meat, such as sausages and deli meats, has been linked to health concerns including a higher risk of colon cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It contains various chemical compounds not present in fresh meat that can be harmful to health. But it's important to note that studies have only identified a link and can't confirm that processed meat causes these illnesses.
Alongside the bagel, Hobson would have a premade pasta salad and either a protein bar or fruit yogurt.
Even though most of these items are considered healthy, they are all ultra-processed, he said, so he decided to switch up his lunch.
"The bread is ultra processed, not necessarily a bad thing because it does have other health benefits, but for me personally, I wanted just to not include it," he said.
A salad with chickpeas and tinned tuna is minimally processed
Hobson said that he no longer has sandwiches for lunch. He now makes himself a salad packed with all three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
Typically he'll grab a can of chickpeas, a can of tuna, some lemon juice, olive oil, and some chopped vegetables from the store and assemble them in his office.
"Instead of my wholewheat bread, which is a carbohydrate and a bit of protein and fiber, I get that from the chickpeas. And then my protein instead of the ham would come from the tuna," he said.