People assume that, because I'm in the health and fitness industry, I don't eat junk food, but I love it. I struggle with this stuff, I can’t eat in moderation. I don’t eat much fast food but anything sweet for me is really hard to put down, and I eat it till it's gone, basically. The only thing that works for me is just having it out of the house.
Protein has become this thing that’s in everything – yoghurts, crisps, chocolate bars. But so many of them have additives, chemicals, sweeteners, gums, emulsifiers. A sandwich has probably got more nutrition than a protein bar. It’s basically all chemicals, just powders. There’s no food in it.
That’s why I decided to create the unhealthiest ultra processed food I could possibly create. I’m marketing it and selling it just to highlight how laughable the whole industry is. Protein bars were the perfect product for me because I’m in the fitness industry.
Making a truly harmful protein bar is a way of showing how easy it is to put really unhealthy ingredients into a bar and sell it to you as a health food. It’s provocative. I really didn’t want to sell this bar, but I think for the impact to actually happen, it had to be real. Killer Bar is my way of making a difference. Dr Chris Van Tulleken is my teacher on all things ultra processed. His book Ultra Processed People sent me on a journey, and now we’ve created a documentary together called Licensed to Kill, about why we made the Killer bar. Hopefully people will understand what I’m trying to do if they watch it.
Social media hype means people think these products are healthy, but they’re not. If you think of these brands, they’re selling millions of products because of a health halo. You genuinely think you’re buying a healthier product than a chocolate bar, but they contain nasty ingredients that aren’t even in chocolate bars.
The aim is not to ban these foods. It’s about transparency around the ingredients. They look healthy on the outside and they’re just not.
Nothing is going to replace real food. And so the answer isn’t to buy more snacks and shelf-life products, it’s to cook more.
I grew up eating potato waffles, chicken nuggets, crisps, fizzy sweets, wagon wheels, Kit Kats. It was all my mum could afford. There was no conversation then in the 80s about whether this food was harmful. Breakfast would be Sunny Delight, then two or three bowls of Coco Pops, Nutella on toast. In the evening, it was just pasta with very little veg. I couldn’t sit still. I was disruptive. I could not focus for more than a few minutes. I've never been tested for ADHD, but I think the foods I ate had an impact on me as a kid.
There are very few packaged goods that are going to be better than whole foods. But people are time poor, so they grab convenience foods. But even cheap food is not cheap anymore. Everything’s expensive and people are losing a love for cooking. We need to make real food cheaper. I’m always thinking about budget recipes, batch cooking, using tins and lentils and things. Speed is everything – that’s why these companies win. The government and supermarkets need to put offers on real food, not just the crap they’re selling at the end of the aisles.
Before making the documentary I was eating a lot more of these things. On weekends, if I was stressed, I’d buy ice cream, popcorn, Haribo. I’m not seeing that as a treat anymore because I see the effects it has on my body. So it's definitely made me question, what is a treat? And ultimately, healthy food is a treat after a stressful day. Cooking a healthy meal for myself is what’s going to make me feel good.
We’re in a worse position than ever diet-wise and with health-related diseases. All the emphasis is on treatment, but we should be investing in preventative healthcare. In the UK up to 80% of a child’s diet in low income families comes from ultra processed foods. If we don’t address this, it’s only going to get worse.
These companies are so powerful. They lobby against any change. Food companies also fund the research – they could make a documentary saying how healthy this bar is. The laws are so weak that producers continue manufacturing this stuff even though, deep down, they know it’s affecting our health.
I want the government to put health warnings on foods. In certain countries in South America they have clear hexagon health warnings. Rather than the traffic light system that can make a bowl of Coco Pops look healthy, these are honest: high in calories, high in sugar, high in saturated fat. It’s bold to say excessive consumption may lead to cancer, but that’s not just opinion, it’s evidence.
I’ve been on a journey – I learned so much in this process. I knew eating ultra processed food wasn’t good for body fat or mental health. But to learn they are linked to cancer and strokes wasn’t something I was thinking about. A lot of people will find this information new. It’s not alarmist – this is the World Health Organization, proper research.
I don’t want people to eat this bar, but it’s a vehicle to show that you can create any product with harmful ingredients and sell it as normal. If we don’t change our diet, nothing changes.
I’m always going to promote healthy cooking and real food over dust and gels and sachets. People want a shortcut all the time, but there is no shortcut for our health. You have to get in the kitchen.
