Study shows these ultra-processed foods could shorten your lifespan

Health risks associated with processed meat and soft drinks

The preliminary study, presented Sunday at the American Academy of Nutrition's annual meeting in Chicago, analyzed dietary data collected in 1995 from about 541,000 Americans ages 50 to 71. National Institutes of Health/AARP Diet and Health Study.

The researchers linked dietary data to mortality rates over the next 20 to 30 years. Compared with the lowest 10% of people consuming ultra-processed foods, those who ate the most highly processed foods: Heart disease or diabetesAccording to the study: Other studies, However, the researchers found no increase in cancer-related deaths.

Mr Loftfield said some ultra-processed foods posed a higher risk than others, saying: “Highly processed meats and soft drinks are some of the subgroups of ultra-processed foods that are most strongly associated with mortality risk.”

Diet drinks are considered ultra-processed foods because they contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Steviaand contain additional additives not found in whole foods. Diet drinks are known to be associated with a higher risk of premature death. Cardiovascular disease Not only onset dementia, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, Stroke and metabolic syndromewhich can lead to heart disease and diabetes.

of US Dietary Guidelines for Americans It already recommends limiting your intake of sugary drinks, but this Premature death This can lead to the development of chronic diseases. A March 2019 study found that: Women who drink more than two sugary drinks per day Women who drank one or more standard glasses, bottles or cans of wine per day had a 63% higher risk of premature death compared with women who drank less than once a month, and men who did the same had a 29% higher risk.

Processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, sausage, ham, corned beef, jerky, and deli meats are also not recommended. Processed meats Intestines stomach cancer, Heart disease, Diabetes Premature death from all causes.

“Evidence from this new study shows that processed meat may be one of the most unhealthy foods, yet people don't tend to think of ham or chicken nuggets as UPF (ultra-processed foods),” Rosie Green, professor of environment, food and health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement.

The study found that people who ate the most ultra-processed foods were younger, heavier, and had poorer diet quality overall than those who ate less ultra-processed foods, but these differences cannot explain the increased health risks, because the study found that even people who were normal weight and had good diets still had some risk of premature death from ultra-processed foods.

One of the study's major limitations is that the dietary data was collected only once, about 30 years ago, Green said, making it “hard to say how eating habits have changed between then and now.”

However, since the mid-1990s, the production of ultra-processed foods has exploded. 60% of the average American's daily calorie intake It comes from ultra-processed foods. 70% of the food in grocery stores It may be ultra-processed.

“Our study is too conservative and likely underestimates consumption of ultra-processed foods,” Loftfield said, “and intake has likely increased over the last few years.”

actual, A study published in May The results were similar. Premature death and death from cardiovascular disease The study, which surveyed more than 100,000 health professionals who ate ultra-processed foods every four years, found that consumption had doubled between the mid-1980s and 2018.

“For example, daily intake of packaged savory snacks such as ice cream and dairy-based desserts has essentially doubled since the '90s,” said Dr. Ming-Yang Song, lead author of the May study and an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“In our study, as in the current study, the positive associations were driven primarily by several subgroups, including processed meats and beverages with added sugar or artificial sweeteners,” Song said, “but all categories of ultra-processed foods were associated with increased risk.”

Loftfield said choosing minimally processed foods was one way to limit ultra-processed foods in one's diet.

“We should really focus on eating diets that are rich in whole foods,” she says, “and if the foods are ultra-processed, check the sodium and added sugar content and use the Nutrition Facts label to make the best decisions possible.”