A new study suggests that people who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods like deli meats, sugary cereals and packaged snacks may not live as long as people who tend to avoid these things.
The researchers examined data collected over more than three decades on nearly 75,000 women and 40,000 men, starting when participants were at least 40 years old and had no history of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. Every two years, participants shared information about their health and completed detailed questionnaires about their eating habits.
Some of the ingredients in ultra-processed foods like soda, chips, hot dogs and sweets such as added sugar, salt and unhealthy fats may explain why ultra-processed foods are associated with a shorter shelf life, says Kathryn Bradbury, PhD, principal researcher at the School. of Population Health at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, who was not involved in the new study.
We have a lot of evidence to show that these nutrients are harmful to health, says Dr. Bradbury.
What are ultra-processed foods?
Take corn as an example. All the corn on the cob you buy in the produce aisle is not processed at all, and canned or frozen whole corn kernels are minimally processed. But the corn chips found in the snack aisle are ultra-processed.
Some ultra-processed foods pose more risks to your health than others
One thing the study found is that not all ultra-processed foods are equally harmful from a longevity standpoint.
For example, the study found that ultra-processed meat, poultry and seafood in ready-to-eat products were associated with a 13 percent higher risk of premature death. Similarly, ultra-processed foods and soft drinks with added sugars or artificial sweeteners were linked to a 9% higher risk of premature death. Ice cream and other dairy-based desserts were linked to a 7% higher risk.
If you want to live longer, avoid processed meats and seafood
However, it’s difficult to translate the risk into a specific number of months or years that your life could be interrupted from eating a lot of ultra-processed foods, says lead study author Mingyang Song, MBBS, ScD, associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
There is no simple mathematical conversion of mortality risk to years of life lost or loss of quality of life, says Dr. Song.
But if your goal is to live longer, the results suggest that it makes sense to limit your consumption of ultra-processed foods as much as possible, especially meals prepared with processed meat and seafood, Song advises.
As with everything else you eat, it’s important to think about the quality of the ultra-processed foods you eat and what nutrients they contain to help guide your choices, says Connie Diekman, RD, a food and nutrition consultant and past president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Build meals around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, [and] Lean protein options, advises Diekman, who was not involved in the new study.
Eating this way can include some healthier processed foods, such as whole-wheat bread, flavored yogurts, and nut milks, Diekman says.
Processing is only a problem when the nutritional quality of the food is lower than the calories it provides, Diekman adds. The overall quality of the diet is what supports or impairs health.
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