It’s no secret that healthy food it’s good for you, whereas unhealthy food can be, well, unhealthy. And while diet isn’t the only determining factor when it comes to a person’s overall health (and health risks), a new study has found that eating a specific type of food can potentially lead to premature and preventable deaths.
The study, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicinetook a look at Brazilian dietary surveys and noticed that around 13% to 21% of the foods consumed by the participants were ultra-processed foods (UPF). They also found that of 541,160 adults between the ages of 30 and 69 who died prematurely in 2019, 261,061 of those deaths were caused by preventable non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Taking a closer look, the study model found that around 57,000 deaths in Brazil that occurred in 2019 were related to UPF. That was equivalent to 10.5% of the total number of premature deaths. It also made up 21.8% of deaths among adults between 30 and 69 years of age that were caused by preventable noncommunicable diseases. Although the study considered data from Brazil, the team noted that UPF-linked premature and preventable deaths in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom could be higher, as residents of these countries tend to have diets that include even more UPF.
“UPF consumption is associated with many disease outcomes, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other diseases,” said the lead investigator. Eduardo A.F. Nilson, ScDof the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health, University of São Paulo, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil, according to Eurek alert!
“The findings add to a growing body of evidence that ultra-processed foods are contributing to disease and premature death in much the same way as tobacco use.” Dawn Harris Sherling, MD, FACP, DABOMAffiliated Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine, says Eat this, not that! “The scariest part of this study as an American, however, is that in this study conducted with Brazilian data, it is estimated that only about 20% of your diet was ultra-processed. In the US, studies estimate that almost 60% of the average diet is ultra-processed. It’s not scientifically sound to simply triple the estimate for the US population, but it does pose some very scary implications for the health of the population here.”
Fortunately, Sherling, the writer behind Eat Everything: How to Get Rid of Additives and Emulsifiers, Heal Your Body, and Regain the Joy of Foodclaims that avoid ultra-processed foods is “easier than it seems at first glance!”
“We just have to go back to eating minimally processed foods that our grandparents knew how to make (or are made in places like Italy and Spain today),” says Sherling. Beyond that, “once we ditch the highly processed, fake-tasting stuff and start eating whole foods again, not only do we develop healthier habits, but our taste buds get used to eating the real thing and we crave that instead.” of the ultra-processed”. trash. We can do this and enjoy real food again!”
Desiree O
Desirée O is a freelance writer covering lifestyle, food and nutrition news, among other topics. Read more about Desiree
