Watch out for the foods that TRICK you into eating more...

As a GP, I have helped to look after effectively the same group of 9,500 people just north of Liverpool since 1986. In that time, I’ve seen an eight-fold increase in those affected by type 2 diabetes, which is a growing global problem and is directly linked to our expanding waistlines. But what’s behind this health calamity that has unfolded in my lifetime (I’m 62)?

Growing up, no one I knew had type 2 diabetes, and obesity was rare. I only remember one fat child in my whole school.

The fact that this has all come about in one generation means it cannot be purely genetic; a new environmental factor must be making us all sick.

The answer is right in front of our noses; it’s in the rows of biscuits, snacks, treats and convenience foods you see in every petrol station, supermarket or newsagents’ shop.

someone is eating all this stuff and yet it isn’t really food at all. I’m not being a killjoy, but if you had seen how poor diet is harming people you care about over four decades in the NHs, you’d have a different view of ‘snacks and treats’ too.

and all this junk food is slowly killing us — don’t just take my word for it: no less than the World Health Organisation reports there are more than one billion overweight adults in the world, and it blames increased consumption of more energy- dense, nutrient-poor foods, the so-called ‘ultra-processed’ foods.

These foods often come in packets and contain high quantities of sugar, salt and cheap vegetable oils such as corn oil, often with chemical emulsifiers, artificial additives and preservatives.

Now you may think that surely a few snacks and treats can’t be that bad. But recent evidence suggests they might be.

In fact, research published last year by scientists from Imperial College London in the journal PLOS One found that a 10 per cent increase in consumption of ultra-processed food was linked to an increase of 18 per cent more men and 17 per cent more women becoming obese.

In another study, published in the american Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which examined the eating habits of 22,000 Italians over eight years, researchers found that those whose daily diet was made up of 15 per cent or more of processed foods had an increased risk of premature death from any cause of 26 per cent. They also had a significantly increased (a whopping 58 per cent) risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

so why does ultra-processed food pose such a risk for cardiovascular health? It’s partly because it contains a toxic mix of sugar, bad fats and salt.

Ultra-processed food has been shown to trigger an inflammatory response in the body and we now know that chronic inflammation is associated with serious disease. Research has linked ultra-processed foods to a greater risk of obesity and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and some cancers.

another problem with ultra-processed foods is that they’ve been designed to be so super-tasty that many of us find moderate consumption difficult.

as you’d expect, there’s a vast difference between how different ingredients affect your health. On one end of the spectrum lie ultra-processed crisps, chocolate bars, breakfast cereals, ready meals and sauces, cakes and biscuits.

at the opposite end are natural ingredients that form the basis of a healthy lowcarb diet: green leafy veg, meat, fish, eggs, full-fat dairy with berries, nuts and seeds. and it’s these simple, but tasty ingredients that Katie Caldesi uses in the recipes we’re sharing all this week in the Daily Mail.