Eat Right: Love your junk food? Here are the ingredients that are wrecking your gut health

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Junk food, used interchangeably with fast food, refers to readily available, nutrient-deficient, and generally inexpensive food. High in calories, salt, and saturated fat, junk food is associated with many serious health problems, including diabetes, obesity, stroke, heart attack, dementia, and even cancer. Also, the absence of iron, calcium and dietary fiber in these foods aggravates their harmful effects. Common examples of junk food can include carbonated beverages, potato chips, desserts, chocolates, canned foods, and other processed and packaged foods.

What makes junk food dangerous?

As you consume junk food, the high glycemic index of refined/maida flour, the added sweetening agents and emulsifiers (especially palm oil) present in these foods flood your bloodstream with glucose without any nutrients, fiber or phytochemicals.

In addition, the high amounts of acrylamides and advanced glycation end products present in baked foods can cause an increase in glycoproteins in tissues.

The harmful effects of junk food are attributed to the common ingredients used to prepare processed and junk foods and how they affect the gut microbiota.

Microbiota refers to the community of trillions of microorganisms (most of them are bacteria) and viruses, fungi and protozoa (in small proportions) that inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract in a defined ratio or ratio. The balance of the microbiota or intestinal flora is important as it helps maintain digestive health and regulate the immune system. In addition, any alteration in the intestinal microbiota can cause multiple health problems, such as luminal diseases, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases, allergic diseases, metabolic diseases (such as obesity and diabetes) and neurodevelopmental diseases.

Now, let’s take a look at how common ingredients found in junk food can individually play a role in altering our gut health.

White flour

Studies suggest that replacing refined grain flour with whole grain flour has positive effects on the gut microbiota and acute innate immune response, among other benefits. This is because refined wheat flour loses all of its fiber, vitamins and minerals during processing, which is associated with a higher prevalence of constipation and nutritional and digestive disorders.

Furthermore, the high glycemic index, high content of refined carbohydrates, and low cereal fiber present in refined flour or maida are strongly related to the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Introduced in 1970, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is America’s worst gift to the world. A sucrose substitute widely used in packaging and processed foods carbonated beverages, fruit drinks, canned fruits, baked goods, jams and jellies, and even in dairy products, HFCS found favor with manufacturers for its greater sweetness and low price.

But unfortunately, HFCS is an unhealthy alternative associated with cardiovascular disease and problems related to gut health. Speaking of gut health, excessive intake of fructose (especially in refined sugar and fruit juices) alters the composition of the gut microbiota and affects the function of gut barriers through a series of inflammatory reactions. The inflammatory reactions triggered by the intake of high doses of fructose also have a significant impact on the formation and maintenance of intestinal flora homeostasis. Of concern, gut barrier disruption caused by dysbiosis or altered microbiota is associated with an increased risk of gut health-related diseases and autoimmunity.

Salt

a high Salt a diet such as junk food can lead to decreased excretion of digestive enzymes from the host. Not only can it change the cellular components, biological processes, and molecular function in the duodenal contents, but it can also alter the composition of the gut microbiota. This, in turn, can lead to a higher abundance of Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae, but a lower abundance of Lactobacillus.

The decreased abundance of Lactobacillus spp. due to HSD intake is significant as it is associated with different inflammatory diseases due to compromised intestinal permeability and immune homeostasis.

Palm oil

Palm oil is the preferred choice of almost all manufacturers of processed foods because it is saturated, and foods processed with saturated fats have a longer shelf life. Palm oil is popular with manufacturers of processed foods because it is saturated fat and the reason processed foods with saturated fat have a longer shelf life.

However, it also has a dark side in terms of health risks. Researchers have found that higher levels of saturation fatty acids present in palm oil make it an unhealthy choice, as excessive intake of these fats is known to have a detrimental effect on the gut microbiota.

This is an important finding as the gut microbiome is also involved in modulating the risk of several chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

In summary

With no nutrition and multiple health hazards to offer, fast food ask for a complete refusal, especially for growing children. Flavor is a catch when it comes to junk food. And, the increase in junk food intake reflects the growing prevalence of different metabolic disorders. Remember, there is no alternative to fresh homemade food. So try to avoid junk food as much as possible as some results are irreversible.

Manjari Chandra is Consultant, Functional Nutrition and Nutritional Medicine, Manjari Wellness, New Delhi. His column appears every fortnight.

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