The tale of the snail and the hare. Why the Slow Food message is catching on in science.

Earlier this year we wrote a short paragraph around ultra processed foods (UPFs) and how Slow Food has always been against their consumption.

Forty years ago, that position was quite lonely – today it’s a packed room with barely a voice in dissent.

Right now, UPF foods provide more than 50% of all calories consumed in the UK – and an even greater share for those under the age of 35.

The results are shocking.

We are seeing once rare cancers proliferate, such as stomach cancer in the under 50’s.

At the time of our founding, Type II Diabetes was known as adult onset diabetes. It was typically seen in the elderly. Now it’s  found in teenagers and younger people, and all within the space of a single generation.

This is an important development. We know there are diseases which come about due to a gene mutation, or a roll of the dice at birth. Nothing can be done in those cases.

But where we are now is different. And it has to do with our genes.

We know that we all have genes and having a particular gene for something can give you a path to an outcome. From whether you have blue eyes to protection against obesity.

What is much less widely known, is that we can influence our genes. We can switch them on, and we can switch them off. And we do that largely from what we eat, but also via our environment and our social groups . This process is called gene regulation, and the study of this work is known as epigenetics.

So let us take something very basic, say an apple – an apple a day keeps the doctor away. One of the bioactives in apples is Chlorogenic Acid, which increases your metabolism by switching a gene expression to converting regular white fat into brown fat.

The fibre in the apple is also fermented in the gut, producing short chain fatty acids, which reduce inflammation, which again reduces obesity. Research at the University of Rio de Janeiro fed two groups the exact same number of calories a day – but one of the groups ate three apples a day. They lost almost 3lbs in 12 weeks.

There are thousands of similar chemicals – mostly in fungi, fruits, veg and ferments – which switch off genes which give risk to everything from Parkinsons to Diabetes.

Now, this is not the place to plough through every food item, listing its pros and cons. Our point is a simpler one. Our message of good food for everyone was and continues to be important, as a route to good health.

Eating for pleasure, and with people also matters. When we eat together, taking time to be with each other, something special happens.  The dashes of oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin it produces  means we are happier, and more content.

Just as some foods benefit our lives, The reverse is also true.

When we highly process natural foods, we can destroy many of the beneficial compounds – often this is done on purpose, as the shelf life of processed food is often longer without them – even if they are no longer health-giving.

But much more pernicious is that UPFs can switch on genes that cause disease and ill health, whilst simultaneously switch off those that protect us. It is like we created a food system designed to make us unwell.

We have always said that good food is about real food. To quote Michael Pollan, if the ingredients existed to our (great) grandmothers, then it’s likely ok.

So with new study, after new study, the science this year agreed we were right all along.

So, as we start the new year, lets all resolve to eat Slow – our lives may literally depend on it.

 

Nothing in this article should be considered medical advice. The article takes the perspective of health and disease at a population level where it is possible to draw conclusions across large numbers of individuals, and not an individual one. If you concerns about your health please speak to your GP.