Warnings are increasing about the danger of eating ultra-processed foods, which are industrially produced and devoid of whole foods, and are usually ready to eat or heat, such as frozen pizza, fast food, most breakfast cereals, canned soups, sweets, soda and salty snacks. These foods greatly affect the health of the body and raise blood levels. Obesity and heart disease, which may lead to death.
In Brazil, scientists studied mortality rates in 2019 and found that increased consumption of these foods called UPFs contributed to more than 10% of all premature deaths.
It also found that of the 541,260 adults ages 30-69 who died prematurely in 2019; Of these deaths, 261,061 were caused by preventable non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The study also found that about 57,000 deaths in the South American country that occurred in 2019 were related to these foods, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Ultra-processed foods contain no whole foods and are produced industrially – iStock
This is equivalent to 10.5% of the total number of premature deaths. It also accounted for 21.8% of deaths in adults between the ages of 30 and 69 years due to preventable noncommunicable diseases.
Although the study looked at data from Brazil, the team noted that premature and preventable deaths associated with ultra-processed foods in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom could be higher; People in these countries tend to eat a diet that contains more UPFs.
For his part, the principal investigator of the study, Eduardo AF Nelson from the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at Overisk University, explained that “consumption of UPFs is associated with many disease outcomes such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some types of cancer and other diseases,” according to the “eat” website. this not that”.
Canned soup is an ultra-processed food
In a similar way to using tobacco
“Ultra-processed foods contribute to morbidity and premature mortality in a very similar way to tobacco use,” said Dr. Dawn Harris Shearling, assistant clinical professor of internal medicine at Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine.
“According to this study using Brazilian data, it is estimated that only about 20% of the participants’ diet was highly processed. In the US, studies estimate that approximately 60% of the average diet is highly processed.” .
Salty Snacks – iStock
The solution is!
But Schirling, author of Behind Eating Everything: How to Eliminate Additives and Emulsifiers, Heal Your Body, and Reclaim the Pleasure of Food, says that avoiding ultra-processed foods is easier than it might first seem!
“We just have to go back to eating the minimally processed foods that our ancestors knew how to make (or that they make in places like Italy and Spain today). Moreover, once we give up highly flavored, processed foods and start eating whole foods again, we are “Not only do we develop healthy habits, but our taste buds get used to eating real food and crave it more than junk super processed foods. We can do that and enjoy real food again.”
It is indicated that “ultra-processed” foods (UPFs) are being modified to a large degree, chemically transformed using methods and ingredients that are not commonly used when cooking at home.