Sugary drinks and many breakfast cereals are ultra-processed foods, as are newer innovations such as so-called Plant-based burgerswhich are normally made from isolated proteins and other chemicals to make the products palatable.
The intense industrial processes used to produce ultra-processed foods destroy the natural structure of food ingredients and remove many beneficial nutrients such as fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
Many of us are well aware that ultra-processed foods are bad for our health. But it has not been clear whether this is simply because these foods have low nutritional value. Now, two new studies have shown that poor nutrition may not be enough to explain its health risks. This suggests that other factors may be necessary to fully explain its health risks.
The role of inflammation.
the first study, which looked at more than 20,000 healthy Italian adults, found that participants who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause. the second studywhich analyzed more than 50,000 US male health professionals, found that a high consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of colon cancer.
What is most interesting about these studies is that the health risks of consuming a diet rich in ultra-processed foods remained even after the poor nutritional quality of their diets had been taken into account. This suggests that other factors contribute to the damage caused by ultra-processed foods.
It also means that getting the right nutrients in other parts of the diet may not be enough to cancel out the risk of disease from eating ultra-processed foods. Similarly, the food industry’s attempts to improve the nutritional value of ultra-processed foods by adding a few more vitamins may be sidestepping a more fundamental problem with these foods.
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