Ultra-processed foods linked to higher risk of premature death

Most people know that foods such as crisps, sweets, or takeaways aren’t the best for our health—but new research suggests a diet high in ultra-processed foods might actually put a person at higher risk of premature death.

A recent study revealed a growing evidence linking ultra-processed foods to numerous chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, among others. These associations led researchers to dig deeper into ultra-processed foods’ impact on overall mortality over an extended period.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods? 

Before diving into the study’s results, it’s helpful to clarify what “ultra-processed” foods actually are. This term is relatively new and can be confusing.

In general, ultra-processed foods are high in fat, sugar, and salt, have a long shelf-life, and are potentially addictive. Something that is ultra-processed will also likely have substances not usually found in traditional food prep, including added flavours, sweeteners, colours, emulsifiers, and more. Another way of looking at it would that ultra-processed foods are seen as foods you could not easily recreate in a home kitchen.

These might include packaged sweets or pastries, artificially-coloured drinks, deli meats, frozen/chilled ready meals, and flavoured chips.

The Link Between Ultra-Processed Foods and Mortality 

To look at the broader picture, the study used data spanning 30 years taken from two large cohort studies: the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Combined, these studies evaluated the diets of over 172,000 subjects, all of whom answered food frequency questionnaires every four years starting in the mid-1980s.

The researchers divided the types of ultra-processed foods people ate into nine categories, which included breads and breakfast foods, packaged sweet snacks and desserts, and ready-to-eat meat, poultry, and seafood products.

Researchers found participants who ate the most ultra-processed foods (about seven servings per day on average) had a 4% increased risk of death from any cause of illness. They also had a 9% increased risk of death from causes other than cancer and cardiovascular disease, including an 8% increased risk of death from neurodegenerative diseases.

However, not all nine categories of ultra-processed foods had the same effects, with processed meat and sugar-sweetened beverages - indicating a  significant need to reduce the consumption of these foods.

Processed meat intake has consistently been associated with higher risk of diseases, including heart disease and cancer. And a large 2019 study associated sugar-sweetened beverages with greater mortality, in large part due to cardiovascular disease.

Limiting Ultra-Processed Foods for Longevity 

Though research indicates some ultra-processed foods could harm our health, these foods take up a significant portion of our diet—it may not be realistic to purge everything packaged and processed from your kitchen cupboard and fridge. Eliminating all ultra-processed foods from the diet would be a radical dietary change that may be difficult to sustain in our current food environment.

Rather than strictly curtailing your diet (which can lead to feelings of restriction and fear), it may be more helpful to think about what you can add instead.

Researchers and health professionals agree that adding foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, healthy fats, nuts and seeds, lean proteins, beans, and legumes can improve our health and potentially offset the effects of eating some of the foods associated with an increased risk of certain diseases. Improved diet quality (in other words, eating a healthier diet) can alleviate some of the ultra-processed food concerns.

Extracts taken from Sarah Garone from www.health.com