A massive new study contradicts general findings about ultra-processed foods. The Harvard-based investigation found that folks who consume significant amounts of UPFs have only a slightly higher overall risk of death from all causes…
It sounds contrary to common sense. But maybe that’s because we’ve been bombarded with warnings about eating ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) over the past couple of years. Nevertheless, a new study that followed more than 173,000 health professionals from across the US for an average of 34 years seems to have produced conclusive evidence that eating ultra-processed food is not a major risk factor in overall mortality…
What they did
The data mining exercise examined health records for nurses and make physicians, gathered over a long period starting in 1964. Researchers looked at subjects’ diets and compared that data with their life outcomes over the study period.
What they found
The key findings of the study surprised researchers. They found that, “a higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with [only] slightly higher all-cause mortality, driven by causes other than cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).” They found no significant association with deaths from cancer or CVD.
The study also found that processed and cured meats and ready-to-eat foods were more likely to contribute to mortality risk than other UPFs.
Perhaps of greater interest was the finding that overall diet quality over the long run was more important than UPF consumption, to overall health and life outcomes.
The takeaway
It appears that, in spite of the prevailing concerns about ultraprocessed foods, they may not be as dangerous as some experts have warned.
My take
This is the second study I’ve seen that concluded eating UPFs is not as dangerous as we’ve been told. But there are other learned investigations have found disturbing connections between UPFs and specific health issues.
One such study found that folks whose diets include as little as 20 percent ultra-processed foods can suffer an average cognitive decline of as much as 28 percent.
A British Medical Journal report revealed that one in 7 Brits, North Americans and Europeans are ‘hooked’ on ultra-processed foods. Doctors said these foods should be labelled ‘addictive’…
Yet another study observed a connection with mental health issues: “Individuals who consumed the most ultra-processed foods, as compared with those who consumed the least amount, had statistically significant increases in the adverse mental health symptoms of mild depression, ‘mentally unhealthy days’ and ‘anxious days’.”
The BMJ study we’re looking at today found no statistical association between ultra-processed foods and heart disease. But a 2019 study by researchers from Northwestern University discovered a significant connection. And another, by researchers from the University of Bristol (UK), “showed that eating 10 percent more UPFs is associated with a 23 percent higher risk of head and neck cancer, and a 24 percent higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.”
And let’s not forget the long list of studies that link UPFs with obesity – and, by association, all the myriad ills that global health scourge contributes to.
So… The stated results of the BMJ long-term data analysis don’t persuade me that it’s any safer to eat ultra-processed foods…
~ Maggie J.