Diet expert Tim Spector warns about store cupboard favorite SOUP containing ‘chemicals’

It’s a British winter-warming staple, found in cupboards across the country.

But one of Britain’s top nutritionists has issued a stark warning about much-loved canned and packet tomato soups because of the potential health risks.

According to Professor Tim Spector, founder of the popular nutrition app ZOE, they lack essential nutrients.

And unlike some of their fresh counterparts, they’re often packed with “extra chemicals and extracts.”

In one Instagram video Posted on the Kings College London academic’s profile, he pointed to tomatoes as an essential food and explained that they are full of polyphenols.

These compounds are found in plants and have antioxidant properties – and can help control blood pressure.

However, when formulated into canned soup, these benefits can be lost among the many other ultra-processed ingredients needed to extend shelf life.

In the video, which has racked up more than 6,000 likes, he said: ‘In Britain we eat more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) than any other country in Europe.

According to Professor Tim Spector, founder of the popular nutrition app ZOE, canned soups lack essential nutrients

Unlike some of their refrigerated counterparts, they are packed with ‘extra chemicals and extracts’

‘So to reach that level we have to know exactly what we are eating, and a good example of this is tomatoes.

‘They are high in polyphenols, especially one you may have heard of: lycopene.

‘To have [fresh tomatoes] on their own they would be classified as unprocessed….”

Processed foods, he explains, are products that have been modified to make them taste better or last longer.

Canned vegetables, canned fish, fresh bread and cheese are all examples.

Professor Spector pointed to tins and jars of plums and chopped tomatoes and said: ‘You might be a little worried about them because they can come in tins or cans.

‘But you don’t have to worry about anything, almost all of these are very good for you.

‘Sometimes they even contain more nutrients than in their raw state.’

Canned Heinz Canned Cream of Tomato Soup contains 89 percent tomatoes and modified cornstarch, dried skimmed milk, milk proteins, citric acid, meaning it has a UPF rating

Tomatoes make up 36 percent of the contents of a sachet, but next on the list is sugar, followed by modified potato starch, corn syrup, whey powder and beetroot powder.

But pointing to the much-loved cans and boxes of Heinz Tomato Soup, he added: ‘These contain extra chemicals and extracts from foods that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboard.’

His warning — that canned or packaged tomato soup contains UPFs — comes amid growing concern about these foods.

UPFs – which also include bread, cereal and even salad dressing – are made with artificial ingredients used to preserve flavor, add flavor and improve texture.

They have undergone multiple levels of processing and are usually full of added fats, colorings and sugars.

Some have even gone so far as to say that they could be just as dangerous, in terms of causing cancer, as tobacco – and that they should be accompanied by a cigarette-style health warning.

A recent study found that every 10 percent increase in the proportion of UPFs in the diet was associated with a four percent higher risk of colorectal cancer.

Although Heinz Cream of Tomato Cup Soup claims to contain “no artificial colors or preservatives,” a quick glance at the ingredients list reveals numerous unusual-looking ingredients.

Tomatoes make up 36 percent of the contents of a bag, but next on the list is sugar, followed by modified potato starch, glucose syrup, whey powder and beetroot powder.

Foods can be divided into four broad categories: fresh foods, simple ingredients used in cooking, processed foods that combine the last two groups, and ultra-processed foods, which are made with numerous additives and preservatives.

Food experts say some UPFs can be “part of a healthy diet.” Baked beans, fish fingers and wholemeal bread all make the cut, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF)

Under “colors” are carotenes and riboflavin and modified cornmeal.

There is also citric acid, palm oil and palm fat. It also mentions something called ‘mono- and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids’, and potassium phosphate, which is apparently a ‘stabilizer’.

The canned version has a smaller ingredient list, with 89 percent tomatoes.

However, it also contains modified corn flour, dried skimmed milk, milk proteins, citric acid, which means it still counts as a UPF.

Prof Spector concludes: ‘Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what to choose and what to avoid, to help you and your gut microbes.’

An adult portion of fruit or vegetables weighs 80 grams, which is about one medium tomato or seven cherry tomatoes, according to the NHS.

Despite concerns about UPFs, many dietitians claim that fanatics are wrongly labeling nutritious options such as fish fingers and baked beans as unhealthy.

Britain consumes more UPFs than any other European country, with the foods making up an estimated 57 percent of the national diet.

They are thought to be a major cause of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year.