Nutrition conference highlights more bad news about ultra-processed foods

Every week it seems like some new (bad) news story about ultra-processed foods is released. This week is no exception.

According to a new study, “people who ate high amounts of ultra-processed foods were 10% more likely to die from all causes over the 23-year follow-up period compared with people who ate minimally processed foods.” The study was presented last month at the Nutrition 2024 conference and followed 500,000 people over three decades. “While study participants who ate more ultra-processed foods were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and lower overall diet quality, some ultra-processed food eaters were of normal weight—and still had a higher risk of death,” Miller adds.

As Salon Food has repeatedly pointed out, ultra-processed foods can range from protein bars to diet soda, deli meats to packaged breads, and often contain “additional ingredients like artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, and other ingredients to preserve their texture and longevity. Many packaged foods fall into this category.” Eating ultra-processed foods is linked to a host of chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and various cancers, according to Miller, who also cites other studies in recent years that all seem to reiterate the same overarching conclusion: We should be eating a lot less ultra-processed foods than we currently do, to put it bluntly.

Conversely, Miller notes that some technically ultra-processed foods, like liquid egg whites, raisins, and unsweetened sultanas, are actually quite “good for you,” so it’s hard to generalize too much.