The intense industrial processes used to produce ultra-processed foods destroy the natural structure of food ingredients, stripping them of many beneficial nutrients such as fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
Many of us are well aware that ultra-processed foods are detrimental to our health. However, it is unclear whether this is simply due to the low nutritional value of these foods. It has been shown that defects alone may not explain health risks. This suggests that other factors may be required to fully explain their health risks.
Role of inflammation
An initial study of more than 20,000 healthy Italian adults found that those who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause. His second study of more than 50,000 U.S. male health professionals found that 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 from eating diets high in ultra-processed foods remained even after accounting for the low nutritional value of their diets. contribute to the harm caused by ultra-processed foods.
It also means that getting adequate nutrients elsewhere in the diet may not be enough to offset the risk of illness from consuming ultra-processed foods. attempts to add a few vitamins to improve the nutritional value of ultra-processed foods may have circumvented a more fundamental problem with these foods.
So what factors could explain why ultra-processed foods are so detrimental to our health?
An Italian study found that inflammatory markers, such as increased white blood cell counts, were higher in the group that ate the most highly processed foods. Our body can trigger an inflammatory response for many reasons, such as when we catch a cold or when we are injured. or viruses).
Our inflammatory response usually goes away quickly, but some people develop chronic inflammation throughout the body. are involved in
A number of studies have found that poor diets can increase inflammation in the body, which is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease. Given that the participants showed signs of inflammation, this suggests that inflammation may contribute to why ultra-processed foods increase disease risk. Some common food additives (e.g. emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners) also cause changes in the gut microbiome and increase inflammation in the gut.
Some researchers theorize that ultra-processed foods increase inflammation. This is because the body perceives it as a foreign substance, like invading bacteria. The result is increased inflammation throughout the body.
The US colon cancer study did not establish whether inflammation was increased in men who consumed the most ultra-processed foods, but inflammation is strongly associated with an increased risk of colon cancer.
Other mechanisms, such as impaired kidney function and packaged toxins, may also explain why ultra-processed foods cause so many dangerous health problems, according to research.
The inflammatory response is built into our bodies, so the best way to prevent this is to avoid eating ultra-processed foods altogether. diet) have also been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. This may also explain why a plant-based diet free of ultra-processed foods can help prevent chronic disease. I don’t know if
Simply reducing your intake of ultra-processed foods can be difficult. Ultra-processed foods are designed to be very palatable, and coupled with compelling marketing, they can be very difficult for some people to resist.
These foods are not even labeled as such on the food packaging. The best way to identify them is to look at their ingredients. Emulsifiers, thickeners, protein isolates, and other industrial-sounding products usually indicate that it is an ultra-processed food. But making meals from scratch using whole foods is the best way to avoid the harm of ultra-processed foods.
Richard Hoffman is Associate Lecturer in Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Hertfordshire.
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