Together with Dr Chris van Tulleken, physician, broadcaster and author of the best-seller, “Ultra Processed People”, he explained the dangers of ultra-processed foods, often known as UPFs, and talked about the number of emulsifiers and other additives in them.
Additives which are entirely legal but known to be damaging.
They claimed that more and more of us are turning to protein to boost our energy.
On the face of it, that sounds like good news.
Unfortunately, many individuals are not getting their protein fix from conventional sources such as fish, chicken, nuts and cheese, but from protein bars, which, it turns out, are generally far from healthy because of the emulsifiers and other additives they contain.
I recommend you take a look at this TV programme if you haven’t seen it; it’s full of surprises and a real eye-opener.
In the western world, we’ve become hooked on low-cost convenience meals.
But the more that food companies work on extending the shelf life of these products, the more they tamper with the ingredients and add to them in ways that may be delicious to eat and quite addictive, but not healthy.
Such foods now account for about half the daily intake of calories in the UK, which is frightening, as eating them has been linked to 32 poor health conditions, including cancer of the brain, breast and ovaries, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.
In fact, a recent study claimed that UPFs lead to 20,000 premature deaths annually in this country.
Sadly, I think many of us ignore food scares because we believe that governments and food companies know what they’re doing and would not put us in danger.
Many top experts these days clearly disagree with that view.
Of course, additives are nothing new.
After the second world war, companies started producing diet versions of popular drinks and food.
By the 1980s, these were big sellers because we were persuaded they were a good thing.
The trouble was that low or no sugar products had to be made to taste nice, so they contained artificial sweeteners.
At a conference, 20 years ago, I heard a Havard professor explain why this was a bad idea.
He said that when there is a sweet taste on our tongues, our brains are programmed to expect a delivery of energy.
If, however, that sweet taste is created artificially, the brain and body are confused and unsatisfied because there is no incoming energy and this makes us seek out calories elsewhere.
Many scientists now claim that the consumption of drinks and food with artificial sweeteners are part of the reason so many people in the first world are overweight or obese.
Putting it simply, they say slimming foods have made us fatter.
What about fats?
These days, science tells us that we require fat – though we should eat more unsaturated types than saturated – to protect our organs, give us energy and help in the production of hormones.
But back in the 1980s and ’90s, fats of all kinds were condemned as enemies, which led to a huge marketing opportunity for low-fat products.
We gorged on them believing they were beneficial, unaware that they were packed with harmful additives to make them taste nice.
The irony is that while we were cutting down on sugars and consuming vast quantities of diet drinks and cereals stuffed with artificial sweeteners, we were actually eating real sugars in low-fat yoghurt – because sugars were added in place of fat, to make them tastier.
Professor Tim Spector on the Zoe website says, “Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, grocery shelves were stacked high with low-fat products containing just as many calories as their full-fat predecessors.
“Because these foods were marketed as ‘healthy’, consumers snacked freely believing they were eating guilt-free pleasures”.
Unfortunately, many people continue to eat these products, because they’re still widely available in supermarkets.
I know all this information is complicated but to cut to the chase is there anything we can do as individuals to eat more safely and healthily?
I think our best bet is to shop for fresh food regularly rather than stock up once a week at a supermarket.
Frozen foods are a good choice too.
And when we do indulge in items such as pies, pizzas, biscuits, cake and bread, we should aim to eat home-cooked versions, or food that we know has been produced by local bakeries or companies who put into them only the sort of ingredients we have in our kitchens.
That way we can avoid foodstuffs that have been industrially produced.
We should also make it a habit to read the list of ingredients on food products before buying.
I think it’s also up to us to take a keen interest in what foods we’re putting into our bodies, and to try to keep up with the advice of experts we trust.
Meanwhile, Joe Wicks is trying to pressure and inform governments and food companies in a bid to get them to change their ways.
Watch this space.