Eating too many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can send you to the grave prematurely, a study suggests.
Ready meals, soft drinks and ice cream appear to pose the greatest danger to human health.
Researchers at Harvard University followed 115,000 healthy American adults over a period of three decades.
Four percent more deaths occurred among participants who ate about seven servings of junk per day, compared to a group who ate half as much.
Although the risk was low, the team argued that its findings echoed calls to limit certain types of UPF.
The Nova system, developed by Brazilian scientists more than a decade ago, divides foods into four groups based on the degree of processing they have undergone. Unprocessed foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients – which are typically not eaten on their own – include oils, butter, sugar and salt.
The generic term is used to refer to anything edible and made with colors, sweeteners, and preservatives that extend shelf life.
Ready meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the most popular examples of products falling under the umbrella term UPF, now synonymous with foods offering little nutritional value.
They are distinct from processed foods, which are tinkered with to last longer or enhance their taste, such as cold cuts, cheese and fresh bread.
Yet dietitians say this sweeping ruling wrongly favors “healthy” options like fish sticks and baked beans.
The new paper adds to growing evidence illustrating the health risks of UPFs, which have been vilified for decades due to their observed links to cancer and dementia.
Over the 34-year follow-up period, researchers recorded 48,193 deaths, including more than 13,000 from cancer and just over 11,000 attributed to cardiovascular disease.
However, no specific relationship between total UPF consumption and deaths from cancer or heart disease was observed.
Instead, the elevated risk – amounting to 64 additional deaths per 100,000 person-years – was only observed for deaths from all causes.
They also found no link between premature death and salty condiments, sauces and snacks.
Even with sugary drinks and convenience foods, the risk was less pronounced after researchers took into account the overall diet quality of participants, who were surveyed about their eating habits every four years.
The risk reached 13 percent for some UPFs.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the scientists said: “The findings support limiting the consumption of certain types of ultra-processed foods for long-term health.”
But experts today criticized the research.
Sir David Spiegelhalter, emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge, said: ‘This study shows weak associations between ultra-processed foods and overall mortality.
Dietitian Duane Mellor, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said: “It is also notable that those who ate most ultra-processed foods tended to eat few vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains. complete.
“It may not be as simple as saying that those who eat more ultra-processed foods are more likely to die earlier. It is entirely possible that these foods are replacing healthier foods in the food.”
He added: “Not all UPF groups are associated with the same health risks, with sugar, artificially sweetened drinks and processed meats most clearly associated with the risk of premature death.”
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, said it was “impossible to know the reliability of the results” because of the way the study was conducted.
He said: “The results should therefore be treated with great caution.
“I don’t think this study provides evidence to suggest limiting certain foods simply because of their level of processing.”
Food experts say some UPFs can “be part of a healthy diet.” According to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), baked beans, fish fingers and wholemeal bread are all retained. Tomato-based pasta sauces, whole-grain breakfast cereals and fruit yoghurts are also “healthier processed foods”, according to the charity.
“Public health policy must be evidence-based, and there is very good evidence for the health effects of foods based on their composition, which is largely confirmed by this study.”
“On the other hand, there is still virtually no solid evidence of a specific health effect of ultra-treatment.”
The UK is the worst country in Europe for consumption of UPF, which makes up around 57% of the national diet.
They are thought to be a major contributor to obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year.
Often containing colorings, emulsifiers, flavors and other additives, they are typically subjected to multiple industrial processes that, research shows, break down the physical structure of foods, making them quickly absorbed.
This in turn increases blood sugar, reduces satiety and damages the microbiome – the community of “friendly” bacteria that live within us and on which we depend for our good health.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy foods, ideally whole grain based, according to the NHS.
• Eat at least 5 servings of varied fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count
• Base your meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy foods, ideally whole grain.
• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is equivalent to eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of whole-wheat bread and a large baked potato with skin
• Consume dairy products or alternatives to dairy products (such as soy drinks) choosing low-fat and low-sugar options.
• Eat beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 servings of fish each week, one of which is fatty)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small quantities.
• Drink 6 to 8 cups/glasses of water per day
• Adults should consume less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day.
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
dailymail us
