Over the top, scaremongering, too simplistic and misleading – just some of the phrases Professor Tim Spector used in his fervent response to Channel 4 consumer shockumentary Joe Wicks: Licensed to Kill, which aired in October.
So if Wicks’ attempted skewering of ultra-processed foods (specifically protein bars) was such a flop, could Spector do any better?
He had a swing in What Not to Eat (Channel 4, 6 January, 8pm) but ended up using the same shock tactics, albeit in a way blander than a bowl of quinoa.
UPFs are “threatening our health” Spector said, spooning various additives and preservative powders into water and gasping at the fact they clumped “like a glue”.
“Think about what it’s doing inside your gut,” he said, without ever really explaining the specific negative effects, beyond UPFs being moreish and tasty but lacking in nutritional value.
Which surely isn’t inherently bad as part of an otherwise balanced diet? But that was something featured Scarborough couple Rob and Vicki lacked.
The parents-of-four “free-range sugar monsters” had cupboards “full of products that seem perfectly innocent – until you read the packet” and subsisted seemingly exclusively on crisps, chocolate and instant noodles.
Spector’s co-host GP Dr Kandi Ejiofor filled their bathtub with the quantity of instant noodles the household (but mainly Rob) ate in a year to shake them into change. Which made Vicki gag. “That’s appalling, Rob,” she said.
UPF-free alternative recipes to their snacking were shared, and the family made many positive swaps. But the programme was pedestrian, and if change is the aim, it’s Wicks that’s doing the heavy lifting.
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