So-called ultra-processed foods are full of fats, sugar and unhealthy additives that have a significant impact on life expectancy. Experts therefore assume that ultra-processed foods represent a real silent killer, as was the case with undiagnosed high blood pressure in the past.
In a new study, experts at Florida Atlantic University examined whether eating highly processed foods has an impact on life expectancy. The results are published in the “American Journal of Medicine”.
What shortens life expectancy?
Overweight, obesity and a lack of regular physical activity are known to contribute to lower life expectancy. In addition, according to the researchers, the consumption of highly processed foods also seems to play a role that should not be underestimated.
These foods include, for example, carbonated drinks, snacks, cereals and processed meats, which are rich in oil, fat, sugar, starch and sodium, among other things, and also contain emulsifiers such as carrageenan, mono- and diglycerides, carboxymethylcellulose, polysorbates and soy lecithin.
The experts explain that these foods contain few healthy nutrients and many ingredients that are known to be harmful to health.
Health Dangers of Ultra-Processed Foods
The ultra-processed foods likely play an important role in a range of diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, the team reports. In addition, the consumption of these unhealthy foods also influences the risk of cancer and promotes psychological disorders.
While obesity and physical inactivity are known to contribute to preventable illness and death in the United States, the unprecedented consumption of these highly processed foods in the standard American diet poses another new threat, experts emphasize.
Ultra-processed foods could therefore represent a new type of silent killer, comparable to undiagnosed high blood pressure, the researchers add.
Connection between life expectancy and nutrition
“Our life expectancy is lower than that of other economically comparable countries. “If we look at the rising rates of non-communicable diseases in less developed countries, we can see an increase along with the increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods in their diets,” explains study author Dr. Dawn H. Sherling in a press release.
A general problem with ultra-processed foods is that there is no generally accepted definition for them and even various foods that are actually healthy can fall into the category of ultra-processed foods.
Why natural foods are healthier
“When the components of a food are contained in a natural whole food matrix, they are digested more slowly and inefficiently, resulting in lower calorie intake, a lower glycemic load in general, and a smaller post-meal increase in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins that promote atherosclerotic plaques,” reports study author Dr. Allison H Ferris.
This is why ultra-processed foods are so unhealthy
According to experts, ultra-processed foods are so dangerous to health because they contain emulsifiers and other additives that the gastrointestinal tract of mammals often cannot digest, but which serve as a source of nutrition for the microbiota, creating a dysbiotic microbiome that can cause disease favored.
The team believes that additives (e.g. maltodextrin) could potentially promote a layer of mucus that is favorable for certain types of bacteria that are more common in people with inflammatory bowel disease.
If the mucus layer is not properly maintained, the epithelial cell layer can become susceptible to injuries that trigger immunological reactions in the host, the researchers explain.
Dr. Ferris adds that even if the problematic additives were removed from ultra-processed foods, excessive consumption could still lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Increase in cancer and gastrointestinal diseases
In the United States, the number of colon cancer cases has risen sharply, particularly among younger adults. Experts suspect that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods could also be the cause here, as well as the increase in various gastrointestinal diseases.
“Whether ultra-processed foods contribute to our currently increasing rates of non-communicable diseases must be directly tested in analytical studies that are designed a priori to do so,” explains study author Dr. Charles H. Henneken.
Until then, however, people should be advised to eat more whole foods and reduce consumption of highly processed foods. The researchers suspect that in the future there will be a similar development in ultra-processed foods as in cigarettes, for example, and campaigns will be launched to educate the public about their dangers and to reduce their general consumption. (as)
