In Ultra-Processed Women, journalist and women’s health advocate Milli Hill delivers a compelling and urgent examination of how ultra-processed foods uniquely impact the female body. Going beyond the usual warnings about processed food, Hill unpacks scientific research that links these ‘industrially produced food-like items’ with issues such as period pain, hormone imbalance, depression, autoimmune diseases, and even Alzheimer’s.

Hill’s approach is clear-headed and relatable, blending down-to-earth explanations with an unflinching look at the food industry’s decades-long exploitation of women through targeted advertising. The book reveals the broader consequences of ultra-processed eating habits, from environmental harm to the erosion of communal and cultural connections around food and cooking.

More than just a health guide, Ultra-Processed Women is a call to arms. Hill equips readers with practical tools and empowering strategies to break free from the grip of processed foods without guilt or sacrifice. Her argument that changing our diets can be a radical form of resistance in today’s ultra-processed world is both inspiring and timely.

A must-read for anyone wanting to reclaim their health and challenge the status quo.

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Great informative book which I’ll keep referring to. Basically need to curb eating processed food to keep me healthy. Thank for preview read.

The deceits of the advertising and food industry never ends. Over decades, consumers have been seduced away from genuine food into the blanket of fast, instant ready and prepacked stuff which is often mikes away from the original. Don’t get me wrong; I use canned and frozen. But my basic meals come from raw meat and fresh vegetables as the basis for a meal. I’ve read the contents on the back of many food products and find the list of additives appalling.
Until recently, I didn’t fully understand UPF, but having read a couple of books and a few articles, frankly, people should be up in arms and demanding change. I’m convinced that within a few years, the numerous health issues including cancers, diabetes, heart disease etc, will be definitively linked to UPF consumption.
This is a rewarding read. The author explains the issues without being over dramatic. This enables the reader to make balanced and informed choices and there’s plenty of sound guidance, Removing all UPF isn’t easy and I’ve found a few revelations, so it’s challenged me to think further about what I buy. I’m an older reader in reasonable general health. I doubt that changes will add significant years to my life. But I hope to decline as mentally and physically intact as possible and, for me, a good diet is part of the key. The way women are targeted birders on criminal and this is a wake up call. I’d urge everyone to read this book and at least decide whether they’re doing the best for the self and family. It’s informed, well written and full of practical advice.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy

I have read a few books on UPF now and this one still taught me more. It is focused more on how UPF affects women specifically and have useful tips on reducing exposure.

Recent discussions about nutrition and health have moved beyond surface-level advice and started to address the broader consequences of ultra-processed foods, especially for women.

Milli Hill’s Ultra-Processed Women stands out by uncovering the overlooked effects of these foods on women’s bodies and minds. While popular culture often frames dietary choices as simply a matter of willpower or wellness trends, Hill brings attention to research on connections between ultra-processed foods and issues ranging from hormonal disruption to mental health challenges and even neurodegenerative diseases. Her approach, direct and relatable, is aimed at challenging not just eating habits but the entire system that pushes these products onto women.

Hill’s writing is notable for its conversational style, presenting dense research and cultural critique in a way that is easy for readers to absorb and apply. She moves beyond the usual nutrition tropes, arguing that the prevalence of ultra-processed foods is not a matter of individual weakness but a consequence of targeted marketing and structural inequalities. The book frequently references the deliberate strategies by the food industry to appeal specifically to women, like the “pink it and shrink it” tactic. These marketing efforts often exacerbate existing health inequities by disguising harmful products in supposedly empowering or convenient packaging.

The author draws on new studies linking ultra-processed foods with a variety of health outcomes that go beyond gastrointestinal discomfort. For instance, she points to research indicating potential connections with menstrual pain, mood disorders, and cognitive decline. Hill’s critique also addresses the intersection of nutrition with broader economic and environmental systems.

One of the book’s strengths is that it avoids shaming the reader. Instead, Hill offers practical advice for regaining autonomy in the face of an often-predatory food environment. She emphasizes that resistance is possible without expensive or impractical gestures.

Ultra-Processed Women reframes the conversations around food and health for women, linking personal wellbeing with systemic critique. Hill’s work echoes arguments in literature on health equity and mental health that call for nuanced, empathetic, and actionable approaches to complex challenges.

By situating individual choices within larger marketing, economic, and cultural forces, Hill provides a handbook for change that feels both supportive and motivating. This book stands apart from generic nutrition guides, encouraging readers to see shifts in their relationship with food as both practical and political acts, empowering rather than punitive.

The relevance of her insights is reinforced by the growing recognition, across fields, that addressing wellbeing requires more than technical fixes; it demands genuine attention to collective and lived experience.

I have become much more interested in healthy eating as I have got older so I couldn’t wait to read this book.

It was so interesting and has definitely taught me to be so much more aware when choosing and cooking food for myself and my family. The recipes were really helpful and my shopping list each week is now totally different with a focus on much more fresh food.

I would recommend this book to all women as I think it’s definitely a must read and the resources at the end of the book are so helpful.

Thanks to NetGalley, Milli Hill and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Every woman should read this book. (Actually, every human should read this book). I have been interested in Ultra Processed Food for some time now, and have read a few books on the subject. 'Ultra-Processed Women' taught me stuff I didn't know, but more than that, it was tailored towards how UPF affects women in particular. And what Hill has discovered is truly disturbing. I had no idea about UPF in cosmetics, and now I will be very careful what I buy. I am already eating as well as I can, but Hill explained how UPF disrupts so much of the female body, and I am now committed even more to being careful what I put in, and on, my body. The book is so easy to read, so relatable, so very important.

This is a thoughtful book on how ultra processed foods affect women, because their bodies are different from men.
Also they may be more conditioned to buy these foods by social pressure, for example in wishing they were thinner, or sknny which is the word the author uses. There is a lot more to this book than the examples I have given,. Whether we agree with all that is said in the book or not it is a good read, that shows the impact of these foods on males, but in particular on women.
I did not finish the book because it was heavy going at times and for the same reason I missed bits out, especially the bits not relevant to me. However the bits I did read were good and although I disagreed with some of what the author said, it was worth my time reading it.