Chris van Tulleken

Some ultra-processed foods may activate the brain reward system in a way that is similar to what happens when people use drugs like alcohol, or even nicotine or morphine

The crux of the matter is the ninth criterion: ‘Use of the substance is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance

As we’ll see, softness and speed of consumption are defining characteristics of UPF compared with real food