Most Replayed Moment: The Truth Behind "Healthy" Food Labels - Dr. Chris Van Tulleken

Summary

Summary of "Most Replayed Moment: The Truth Behind 'Healthy' Food Labels - Dr. Chris Van Tulleken"

Podcast: The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Host: Steven Bartlett (Speaker A)
Guest: Dr. Chris Van Tulleken (Speaker B)
Release Date: July 4, 2025

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Introduction to the Discussion

Timestamp [00:22]
The episode delves into the misconceptions surrounding "healthy" food labels, challenging the listener's understanding of what truly constitutes healthy eating. Steven Bartlett initiates the conversation by highlighting the dichotomy between affluent individuals who consciously choose their food and those with limited financial resources who often have no choice but to consume less healthy options.

Steven Bartlett:
"Rich people don't eat bad food because they don't want to eat bad food. And people without money eat bad food because they're forced to eat bad food." [00:22]

The Evolution of the Food Environment

Timestamp [01:08]
Dr. Chris Van Tulleken traces the significant changes in the food environment since the 1970s. He attributes the rise in obesity and related health issues to the advent of ultra-processed foods and the financialization of the food industry.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"The invention of ultra-processed food... allowed women to continue to be in the workplace... by the time of the 70s these products had become very widespread." [01:20]

He emphasizes that today, a mere six companies account for 75% of global calorie consumption, effectively creating a monopolistic "food mafia" that prioritizes financial gains over public health.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"75% of the calories that are consumed globally come from six companies." [02:45]

Critical Analysis of "Healthy" Food Labels

Timestamp [04:08]
The conversation shifts to dissecting common "healthy" food products. Dr. Van Tulleken scrutinizes the ingredients of Diet Coke, revealing that despite its green traffic light label, it contains additives like Caramel E150D and artificial sweeteners, which may have adverse health effects.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"Caramel E150D has nothing to do with caramel. It is carbohydrate treated with a mixture of acids and heat... artificial sweeteners... are metabolically confusing." [05:22]

He argues that the current labeling system, particularly the traffic light model, oversimplifies the nutritional value of foods by focusing solely on fat, saturated fat, sugars, and salt, thus creating confusion among consumers.

Steven Bartlett:
"What do you do at a traffic light that's orange and green or red? Do you go, do you stop?" [05:41]

The Illusion of Health in Ultra-Processed Foods

Timestamp [08:04]
Dr. Van Tulleken further critiques the marketing strategies of ultra-processed foods, using Cheerios and Cocoa Pops as examples. He points out that these products carry health claims and added vitamins to appear nutritious, despite being high in sugars and additives.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"A really good way of telling if a food is ultra processed is if there is any health claim on the packet. It's almost certainly ultra processed." [12:24]

He highlights the discrepancy between the perceived health benefits and the actual nutritional content, emphasizing that these products are engineered for excessive consumption rather than genuine nourishment.

Impact on Children and Dietary Choices

Timestamp [09:40]
The discussion addresses the alarming consumption patterns among children, who are often exposed to artificially sweetened beverages and cereals marketed as healthy. Dr. Van Tulleken expresses concern over the long-term health implications, including microbiome disruption and dental issues.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"Kids... are drinking, on average, one can of artificially sweetened drinks every single day." [09:40]

He advocates for simpler, less processed alternatives like milk and water for children, underscoring the need for better dietary education and regulation.

The Moral Hazard of Marketing "Healthy" Ultra-Processed Foods

Timestamp [13:39]
Dr. Van Tulleken discusses the ethical concerns surrounding the marketing of ultra-processed foods to vulnerable populations. He criticizes the food industry's focus on profit over health, arguing that such practices exacerbate public health issues.

Dr. Van Tulleken:
"These products are developed to generate financialized growth for institutional investors. They're not made by people who love you, who want to nourish you." [16:27]

Conclusion: Redefining Food and Health

Timestamp [17:29]
As the episode nears its end, Steven Bartlett wraps up the discussion by reflecting on the challenges of navigating the modern food landscape. He reiterates the importance of informed choices and advocates for a cultural shift towards recognizing the true value of food beyond its marketing facade.

Steven Bartlett:
"I don't think these products meet a useful cultural definition of food. It's a way of modifying your ill health for the benefit of a very small number of people." [17:29]

Key Takeaways

1. Ultra-Processed Foods: The rise of ultra-processed foods and the domination of a few large corporations have significantly impacted global dietary habits and public health.

2. Misleading Labels: Current labeling systems, such as the traffic light model, often fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of a food's nutritional value, leading to consumer confusion.

3. Marketing vs. Health: The food industry's marketing strategies create an illusion of healthiness in products that are, in reality, detrimental to health due to their high content of sugars, additives, and artificial sweeteners.

4. Impact on Children: Children are particularly vulnerable to the marketing of unhealthy, processed foods, which can lead to long-term health issues.

5. Need for Regulation and Education: There is a critical need for better regulation of food marketing and greater public education on nutrition to combat the negative effects of ultra-processed foods.

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This episode provides a compelling examination of the food industry's influence on public health, urging listeners to critically assess the true meaning of "healthy" in today's food landscape. Dr. Chris Van Tulleken offers valuable insights into the systemic issues driving unhealthy eating habits and calls for a collective effort to prioritize genuine nourishment over profit-driven food production.

Transcript

[A]

This is the way it feels to.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Line pant in select stores [e-mail] rich people don't eat bad food because they don't want to eat bad food. And people without money eat bad food because they're forced to eat bad food. And the, the cognitive dissonance that you and I were talking about, quite often we will find people with low incomes making quite cogent arguments about the food that they eat, appearing to side with the companies that are predating on them. Because otherwise how could you live with this dissonance in your life? Otherwise you're just a powerless victim of transnational food corporations. So I, I have almost no interest in personal responsibility. I think you, if you give people technical knowledge and you give people income and opportunity, most people want to be healthy and live good lives.

[B]

1970 the food environment changes. Can you tell me exactly how the food environment changed that caused multiple demographics to, to, to gain weight?

[A]

There are two answers that one, the, the sort of proximate reason is, is the invention of ultra processed food. So the industrialization of food supply. And you can, you can talk about why that happened in a lot of different ways. Part of it was to, you know, a booming population post war. And these products were extremely convenient. They allowed women to continue to be in the workplace. Of course, women had entered the war, entered the workplace in the war. So there were a lot of things that were immediately appealing about these products. TV dinners, Swanson TV dinners appear in the, in the 50s and by the time of the 70s these products had become very widespread. So in the same thing, we were a decade behind in the uk but this, this stuff is now our national diet. Why exactly it took over is the subject of a lot of the research I'm doing at the moment. So now I work much more with economists, the nutritionists, and what we see is the financialization of the food industry. So the primary determinants of almost every action that happens in almost every food company that supplies say 90% of our calories, all the indicators are financial. And so part of it is the takeover of the food system from being a system where people would grow a lot of their own food, make food at home, they buy ingredients from local shops to a small number of companies supplying food. So now 75% of the calories that are consumed globally, come from six companies.

[B]

It's kind of like. Sounds like a mafia of sorts. Like a food mafia.

[A]

I'm gonna let you say that.

[B]

Yeah. Well, no, don't let me say it. I don't want them coming for me. I brought some food along with me today. I'm looking at it because I wanted.

[A]

To get quite distracted.

[B]

I wanted to get your opinion on it. So I brought a group of food products on the left here. Now, these are things that I. I think, growing up, I thought were good.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So.

[A]

You'Re very bold with these brands. I mean, you're really limiting sponsorship opportunities.

[B]

Well, you know. You know, I do think about that sometimes, but I also don't really care. I think, like, I'm in the pursuit of truth here. So so much of why I do this is to educate myself. And I think if I educate myself, then I'll help educate other people. That's why I'm also okay being a total idiot on this subject matter, because that is the truth. So here I've got four products that are typically seen as being quite healthy. Breakfast cereal, Cheerios. I grew up thinking, good for me. Actamol. Good for me. Diet Coke. Great, because there's no sugar in there. And then this is whole grain. Whole grain bread. 50 of your daily whole grain in just two slices. Right, perfect.

[A]

So for a start, I have a slight unease I'm going to talk about these products. I have a slight unease talking about any one product. The evidence applies to the category of food and this kind of stuff. In a sense, I think you're abs. These are such brilliant choices because this is the foundation of our diet. And one of the things that's happening at the moment is the food industry exploring. Painting me as a snob because I'm critiquing these sort of core things. You know, tins of beans with flavoring or supermarket bread, fish fingers. I think this stuff is at the shallow end of the pool in a way. It's not by any means the worst stuff, but in a way, it presents the biggest moral hazard because we think it's so healthy after Diet Coke.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So Diet Coke is my. It's my favorite example because this is the ultimate health food. According to the way we label food at the moment. It has four. Where's the camera?

[B]

It's all green on the four green traffic lights.

[A]

Right.

[B]

What is that? What do they call that? That traffic light system.

[A]

So this is the way we describe healthy. Whether food is healthy or not in this country at the moment. And this system is quite influenced by the food industry and it breaks all foods down into fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. And says that, you know, if those are the bad things and if a food is high in them, it'll, it'll have oranges and greens. So if you look at the Cheerios, they're most, they're mostly on the front. It's on the front. It's optional, by the way. So it's not always on every packet. But the Cheerios are oranges and greens.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now part, there is a baked in confusion to this because what do you do at a traffic light that's orange and green or red? Orange and green? Do you go, do you stop? Is it on the act ML, is.

[B]

It, it's not on there. No. I couldn't see it on there.

[A]

So it may be on the bottom. It's optional. So who knows if you know, we, we don't, we don't have any way in this country of describing either healthy food or unhealthy food other than these traffic lights. Anyway, this is a healthy food. Now if we look at the ingredients on the diet Coke, Carbonated water. Fine. Now there's a color called Caramel E150D. Caramel makes you think of your traditional. It's a French 19th century invention. Burn sugar, creme brulee. It's like, it's a bit naughty, but it's fine. Caramel E150D has nothing to do with caramel. It is carbohydrate treated with a mixture of acids and heat to produce things that contain ammonium and sulfite. So it's a food additive color with no, no benefits. Nothing to do with caramel. Artificial sweeteners, aspartame and acesulfame K. Now sweeteners are tricky because we know sugar is harmful because it rots teeth and it promotes weight gain because it makes you eat more. The weird thing about sweeteners is they don't seem to help with weight loss at all. They may. Some of them seem to be more metabolically harmful than sugar itself. Humans are quite good at eating sugar. When we eat lollipops continuous continuously as kids or have sugary drinks, it's not good for us. But human societies have for millennia existed with a huge amount of honey and refined carbs. So sugar we can handle, although we should reduce our intake. Sweeteners are quite weird because they're a nutritional lie. You put sweet taste on the tongue which says to your body sugar is coming. So maybe put up some insulin Maybe start preparing in other ways physiologically to receive refined carbohydrates. And when that refined carbohydrate, when the sugar never arrives, it seems to be physiologically confusing. So the World Health Organization now says sweeteners aren't better than sugar when it comes to weight loss. And there is an anxiety about aspartame and cancer that I'm personally not in a big sweat about. There's some evidence, but not at normal dosage. Then we've got natural flavorings. We've got caffeine flavoring and addictive drug and phosphoric acid and citric acid.

[B]

Natural.

[A]

It said natural flavorings. I mean, that's good. Well, flavorings are flavorings. Flavorings should signal nutritional content. When you eat a tomato, it has flavor. Not for fun. It has flavor because it signals the nutritional content of the tomato. When you put flavorings out of context, even if you extract them from the tomato or the strawberry or the peach, it's very confusing for you physiologically. You've, you have a very sophisticated internal system to link flavor molecules, which are broadly smell and taste molecules. Salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and some savory ones. You, your body has a way of linking all that information with nutritional information that you get from your gut subconsciously. When you muddle it all up in a product like this, it's very confusing. The phosphoric acid will dissolve the minerals out of your bones as well as dissolving your teeth. So what we have here is a solution of flavorings, an addictive drug, an acid that will leach stuff out of your bones, and sweeteners that seem to be metabolically confusing and certainly aren't better than sugar. And yet we think of this as a health product. So that, for me, is the archetypal, confused way of thinking about food. And what we also know is that when it comes to kids, the age of my youngest, so the age of 3 3, they are drinking, on average, one can of artificially sweetened drinks every single day. So we've, we've taxed sugar. Sugar has come out of our diet. We've seen no weight loss, no indication that it's helping health. And what we are doing is consuming huge numbers now of these artificial sweeteners, which we also know affect our microbiome.

[B]

What is a, a better alternative that's popular on, on the market than. Because it appears to me that all of the drinks in the bloody supermarket have artificial sweeteners and flavorings, and they.

[A]

Do because of the sugar tax. So it's almost impossible now to buy fizzy tax without sweetener. To buy fizzy drinks without sweeteners. So for kids, I try and not give any advice to anyone ever. But my kids, my kids eat a lot of upf but they don't have fizzy drinks. I think, I think fizzy drinks are really quite harmful across the board. So, so kids should just drink milk and water. Milk if they can have it. And grown ups can do pretty well on milk and water if you drink milk.

[B]

What about breakfast cereals and Cheerios and things like that?

[A]

So breakfast cereals are really convenient. I mean, let me see the Cheerios. So I think these, so these, these probably do meet the def. Yeah, these do meet the definition. Oh they are, yeah. So we've got things like palm oil, caramelized sugar, syrup colors, anato norbixin and an antioxidant. And so this is ultra processed. It'll have some fiber, you'll have it with whole milk. I don't want to demonize breakfast cereals. My kids eat, eat breakfast cereals for breakfast. But it's not like eating porridge which is just whole grains or real bread. This is, this is. And what you will find is if you give this to a kid compared to porridges, they will be able to eat much, much more of this. And there is, there's a lot of marketing that this is a really, really healthy product. And I would say the evidence says that this falls into a category of foods that we actually know are associated with negative health outcomes.

[B]

It says on the side there, doesn't it, a list of all the health benefits.

[A]

A really good way of telling if a food is ultra processed is if there is any health claim on the packet. It's almost certainly ultra processed. And part of that is to do with this intellectual property thing that the only food you can make lots of money out of is, is a branded product. So there's no money in broccoli, milk, steak, eggs. Supermarkets quite often make losses on all those things. There's no health claim on broccoli or on plums or on milk. There's no health claim on steak. It's only the ultra processed things that you get marketed to you in this way because there's enough money to do it. The actamel's interesting as well.

[B]

The immune support, well it says immune support and it says vitamin D and B6. So that rich in vitamin D, immune support. That is definitely healthy.

[A]

I, I mean this is, this is a, this is where we need, we, we, we should have done the maths. And shown how much sugar there was in each pot. These are very high calorie shots of sugary liquid that will harm teeth. And I don't know why you'd have this if you could just have real yogurt and, or milk. And the reason they back add the vitamins is to be able to make health claims. So generally foods with added vitamins, real food doesn't need added vitamins. And we're again, we're pretty sure that, and I'm conscious who I'm talking to here, I've got, I probably have to tread a bit carefully. Supplementing vitamins into food doesn't seem to have many health benefits for healthy people. So we've got quite a lot of very big data on this, this and there are lots of studies that show benefits that are funded by people who make vitamins. But broadly the independent evidence shows that when you get vitamins and minerals in the context of food, they're really good for you. And when you take them in pill or supplement form, they don't seem to have many benefits if you are healthy.

[B]

And this food here, this bottle of Coke, I've got can of Pringles and Cocoa Pops, Kellogg's cereal, this is the stuff that I typically think of is like bad processed, ultra processed. Stay away from you would but give.

[A]

Me the Cocoa Pops. So the Cocoa Pops, we look at these traffic lights, okay, Green, green, orange, orange. Pretty healthy. I mean there is a, there is a monkey on the pack selling it to my, to my kids.

[B]

Yeah. It says high in vitamin, high in fiber, Vitamin D, Iron.

[A]

Yeah, iron, supporting your family's health. Rice added goodness. I mean everything about this tells you that this is a product not just safe for kids, but intended for kids. And we all know you like, you can't sell things if they're not healthy. There must be some regulator dealing with that. And this is the thing that my six year old will eat five adult portions of. So when you eat five adult portions, the traffic lights only apply to a 30 gram serving for you. Now a 30 gram serving is, is a handful like that. It's one big spoonful. Okay, so this is the product that I, I recognize addictive behavior in my kids and frankly myself, I mean I could eat, you know, 300 grams of it.

[B]

And the other thing that I went and got from the supermarket because I was thinking about what I typically think as ultra processed and good for me, I went and got this frozen pizza here and then I went and got a Tesco's finest. So this is high End, you know, much more expensive not frozen pizza. And I thought, surely this pizza here is better, a lot better for me than this one here.

[A]

So again, there's a complexity talking about is one better than the other? Because we've never done a trial testing them against each other. They're both ultra processed. I know because I've looked at the ingredients. They both contain ingredients that you don't have in a domestic kitchen, like palm fat or dextrose. And they're both made really in a sense by the same company. So both of, they're Both made by PLCs who will be owned by institutional investors with requirements for growth. So they come from the same food system with the same incentives about production. And my bet is that you or I would be able to eat the entire pizza at a single sitting and we'd be still licking the pack of both of them. So this is food that in a sense is, is engineered to be consumed to excess.

[B]

You know, the, the pizzas, I've got the Cocoa Pops, I've got the, the Coca Cola here. Is this food?

[A]

I don't think it meets. So food is very poorly defined. We don't have a working definition of food sort of in law. But I think food is substance that you eat for nourishment. And it should be about nourishment culturally, socially, personally, psychologically, as well as physically. And these products are developed to generate financialized growth for institutional investors. They're not made by people who love you, who want to nourish you. And so I don't think it meets what I think is a useful cultural definition of food. I think it's very useful to not think of them as food. And I don't think a mixture of coloring, addictive drugs and phosphoric acid could be called food in any sense of the word. It doesn't have nutrition. It only has things that will whip. We're pretty sure that almost every ingredient does you harm in some way. So I don't see how that could be called food. It's a way of co modifying your ill health for the benefit of a very small number of people.

[B]

Two things I wanted to say. The first thing is a huge thank you for listening and tuning into the show week after week means the world to all of us. And this really is a dream that we absolutely never had and couldn't have imagined getting to this place. But secondly, it's a dream where we feel like we're only just getting started. And, and if you enjoy what we do here, Please join the 24% of people that listen to this podcast regularly and follow us on this app. Here's a promise I'm going to make to you. I'm going to do everything in my power to make this show as good as I can now and into the future. We're going to deliver the guest that you want me to speak to, and we're going to continue to keep doing all of the things you love about this show. Thank you. It is a really interesting time to be running a business. Tariff and trade policies are in flux, the pace of innovation is relentless, and staying relevant means constantly reinventing how you operate. If your business can't adapt in real time, it risks falling behind, which means leaders need complete clarity across every part of their operation at all times. This is what our sponsor, NetSuite by Oracle, already delivers to 41,000 companies. NetSuite is an AI powered business management suite that brings accounting, financial management, HR and project planning into one platform. And because you've got this one source of truth, you can make fast decisions based on real time data. Or if you're looking ahead, NetSuite's forecasting tools give you a clear view of what's coming next and how to Prepare for it. NetSuite helps you spot bottlenecks, manage your margins, and stay agile. So if your business is generating seven figures or more, download the free ebook, which is called navigating global trade. Three insights for [e-mail] Bartlett that's netsuite.com Bartlett.