A doctor cut down on ultra-processed foods 15 years ago to transform his health. Here's how he ate before and after.
BBC Food
- Dr. Rupy Aujla changed his diet after being diagnosed with a heart condition in his early 20s.
- Aujla used to rely on processed convenience foods, now he prioritizes plant-based whole foods.
- He shared how his diet has changed with Business Insider.
As a junior doctor in his early 20s, Rupy Aujla ate a pretty standard diet: cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner.
But when he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation — an irregular heart rhythm with episodes of an exceptionally fast heartbeat — at the age of 24 in 2009, Aujla suddenly changed how he thought about his health.
Alongside medication and lifestyle changes (managing his stress levels and prioritizing sleep), Aujla, a London-based family doctor with a master's degree in nutrition medicine, changed his diet, cutting down on ultra-processed food and focusing on whole foods, plants, and fiber.
While Aujla acknowledges that his personal experience may not be the case for everyone, he managed to reverse his atrial fibrillation in 18 months. The NHS states that eating a balanced diet and avoiding caffeine, spicy food, stress, dehydration, and lack of sleep can help with symptoms of atrial fibrillation. However, medication is the main form of treatment.
Aujla told Business Insider how he's changed his diet to improve his health.
Faith Mason
Inadvertently cutting out ultra-processed food
At the start of his career, Aujla was eating what he calls a "standard junior doctor diet," which was generally highly processed and low in fiber and protein.
An average day of eating might be:
- Cereal
- A sandwich with a packet of chips
- Pasta
"It was quite normal, but actually when you look at it through the lens of fiber, protein, and ultra processing, it was horrific," Aujla said.
At the time, there wasn't the same public awareness about the health risks linked to ultra-processed food consumption — including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers — but Aujla sees now that he inadvertently cut out all highly processed foods. His aim was to up his consumption of plant-based foods, with lots of greens, and keeping protein and fiber in mind, which meant eating lots more whole foods.
Aujla's diet has been almost entirely free from ultra-processed foods for 15 years, he said. However, dietitians have previously told BI that the average person doesn't need to worry about the occasional ultra-processed food in their diet if they're eating mostly whole foods.
"It's been apparent to me that the overuse of additives, emulsifiers, and the habituation of this kind of food in our diet are responsible for a huge swath of ill health, and it goes beyond obesity," Aujla said.
"This is the most important thing because it affects your gut, which affects inflammation. There is a very clear link between the ultra-processed diet that is so normalized and a number of different conditions that we see affecting people across the UK and beyond."
Aujla describes his diet as "plant-focused" or "plant-forward," meaning 70-75% plant-based while including some fish (about 20% of his diet), meat, and dairy products. Staple foods in Aujla's kitchen include nuts, seeds, tofu, and lentils.
Aujla still eats foods that he enjoys, like pizza, but it'll be a high-quality pizza from a pizzeria rather than a fast-food chain. He'll pair it with a homemade broccoli salad with balsamic vinegar, rocket, and Parmesan shavings.
"I get greens in at every single meal," Aujla said.