We all know that excessive consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) can cause, or contribute to a whole laundry list of health issues. New science has put a frightening number on how dramatically UPFs can increase your risk of Cardio Health problems…
Researchers from France’s INRAE National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment have discovered an alarming association between UPFs and cardiovascular disease…
What they did
According to an abstract of study report: “The team evaluated data from 63,835 adults enrolled in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort. Participants were followed for an average of 9.1 years, with some track-ed for as long as 15 years. Information on what they ate and drank (collected over at least three days) was gathered through online questionnaires.
“This detailed approach allowed researchers to classify diets based on the share of plant-based and animal-based foods, while also considering both nutritional quality and processing level.”
What they found
“The findings showed that adults who consumed more plant-based foods of higher nutritional quality (lower in fat, sugar, and salt) and with minimal industrial processing had about a 40 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate fewer nutritious plant-based foods and more animal-based products.”
However: “People who ate larger amounts of plant-based foods that were nutritionally higher quality but ultra-processed, including items such as [commercial] wholemeal breads, store-bought soups, ready-made pasta dishes, or [pre-made] salads with dressing, did not experience a reduced cardio-vascular risk relative to individuals who consumed fewer of these products and more animal-based foods.”
The takeaway
The study demonstrates that consumers need to better understand the relationship between the foods they eat and the degree of processing those foods have undergone. The degree of processing directly affects the nutritional value of UPFs and their safety.
“These findings support public health recommendations that encourage the consumption of plant-based foods that are both nutritionally high quality and minimally processed (such as fresh, frozen, or high-quality canned fruits and vegetables without added fats, salt, sugar, or additives).”
My take
Much of the foregoing text is composed of direct quotes from the study report abstract. But I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I CAN say that the central problems associated with processed foods can be expressed as two causal factors:
One, processing mills most of the natural goodness out of the floods that constitute the ‘feedstocks’ for its processes.
And two, processors tend to add back only a small range of the nutrients they’ve flushed from the original foods, as well as pumping their products full of salt, fat and sugar – not only to make them more attractive to consumers’ palates, but more addictive.
Our leaders could mandate major beneficial changes in the processed food sector. But the politicians are afraid of getting on the wrong side of such a powerful industry, which controls more than 75 per-cent of the current North American supermarket product roster.
My takeaway? Make every effort to eat more FRESH fruits and veggies!
~ Maggie J.