"Ultra-processed" foods could save you years



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Go now, you've already known deep in your love heart McNugget and soda that highly processed foods are bad for your health. Perhaps you have not realized how damaging they really are. Sit down and listen, because you will want to hear that.

TO PUT. THE. PopTart. DOWN.

That's true. Just say no to all processed and prepackaged foods – or at least eat them sparingly.

A new study published in "JAMA Internal Medicine" indicates that a 10% increase in your "ultra-processed" food intake results in a 14% increase in the risk of all-cause death.

The study was conducted in France, where researchers followed about 45,000 people aged 45 and over over the past seven years. Participants completed questionnaires about what they ate and drank, as well as their height, weight, lifestyle, level of physical activity, body measurements, and so on.

The researchers determined that ultra-processed food consumption was badociated with a younger age, lower income, lower education, lonely living, mbad index. higher body and at a lower level of physical activity.

donuts

Photo credit: Getty Images

WHAT IS ULTRAPROCESSED FOOD?

To understand why "ultra-processed foods" are so bad for you, you must first understand what it is and differentiate it from "processed foods."

Most of the foods we eat have been "transformed" in one way or another. Our salads are packed in a bag, nuts and tuna are canned, coffee is ground, tofu is packed and vegetables can be bought already sliced. This type of light treatment is not a problem.

According to the NOVA food clbadification system, which badigns a group to food products based on their treatment, these are natural foods that are modified by processes such as the removal of inedible or unwanted parts, drying, grinding, pasteurization, refrigeration, freezing. etc. None of this is bad.

Experts say unprocessed or unprocessed foods such as vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meat, seafood, eggs and milk should be the cornerstones of your diet . Indeed, many nowadays strongly recommend going even further, towards a "whole plant based" diet that drops meats, seafood, eggs and dairy products.

We have problems when we rely on ultra-processed and practical foods. These are edible products that look like foods, but usually have no nutritional value. These foods are significantly modified from their original state and are produced for their convenience and shelf life.

These "foods" are formulated from industrial ingredients and contain little or no food intact. They usually have five or more ingredients. You can expect to see on the label things like salt, sugar, oils, fats, flavor enhancers, additives, preservatives, dyes, and ingredients with names that you do not have. can not even pronounce.

Here are some of the familiar foods and drinks qualified as ultra-processed:

  • Sodas, sweet drinks
  • Pizza, pasta and prepackaged pies
  • Microwave meal
  • Cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries
  • chips
  • Sweet cereals
  • Ice cream
  • Fish sticks and chicken nuggets
  • Burgers, hot dogs and sausages
  • Meals and "instant" desserts
  • Packed snacks

Yes, vegans, this list would include many beloved meat substitutes that you bought in grocery stores. They taste good and do no harm to animals, but if you eat them too often, they could hurt you.

According to the NOVA system:

The common attributes of ultra-processed products are hyperversibility, sophisticated and attractive packaging, aggressive multimedia marketing and other forms of aggressive marketing to children and adolescents, health claims, high profitability, branding and ownership of multinationals.

What the French study taught us

In total, 602 participants died during this seven-year French study. From a theoretical point of view, it seemed to researchers that subjects consuming proportionately more ultra-processed foods exhibited a higher risk of "all-cause mortality".

"The consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased dramatically in recent decades and could lead to a growing burden of deaths from noncommunicable diseases," said the authors of the study.

The bell rings. In many ways, we eat and drink ourselves to death. We are fat and we are in poor health.

The problem, of course, is that today, eating poorly is convenient, easy and cheap. Eating well requires effort, time and often more money. It is not surprising that those who die earlier eat so much of this food. They often feel unable to do much about it. Statistically, they are poorer, less educated, live alone and do not exercise.

We must reverse the trend to eat real food. Changing unhealthy eating habits requires planning and willingness, but it can be done.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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