A study shows that eating a single serving of ultra-processed foods, including crisps, sweets, chocolate and burgers, can increase the risk of death from heart disease by 9%.
Researchers from New York University used data from a study of 3,003 middle-aged adults to examine the role of processed foods in cardiovascular disease.
The team found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of heart disease, and it only got worse the more food you ate.
“The results add to a growing body of evidence pointing to the cardiovascular benefits of limiting ultra-processed foods,” said lead author Philippa Juul.
Consumption of low-calorie soft drinks and other “healthy” snacks, including grains and protein, has also been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
And when processing foods, it may remove good nutrients and other naturally occurring benefits, with the addition of unhelpful nutrients and food additives.
The team added that processing also changes the physical structure of foods. Consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to a number of health conditions and problems, including: weight gain / obesity, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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The consumption of ultra-processed foods makes up more than half of the daily calories in the average American diet, and they are being consumed increasingly worldwide.
“Because a poor diet is a major modifiable risk factor for heart disease, it represents a critical goal in prevention efforts,” Gul said, adding that ultra-processed foods include many foods that are marketed as healthy.
And Gul warned that population-level strategies are needed, such as taxing sugar-sweetened beverages and other ultra-processed foods and recommendations for processing levels in the National Dietary Guidelines.
This is if governments want to reduce the intake of ultra-processed foods, and thus help people lead a healthier lifestyle.
The researchers used data from the Framingham Offspring study to examine the role ultra-processed foods play in cardiovascular disease (CVD).
After excluding participants with pre-existing cardiovascular disease or missing data, the study included 3,003 middle-aged adults with an average age of 53.5 years.
More than half of the participants were female, 33.1% had been educated for 16 years or more, and two-thirds were former or current smokers.
Overall, 5.8% had diabetes and 19% had high blood pressure – with the prevalence of both being higher among those who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods.
The diet was assessed by mail using a nutritional questionnaire, in which participants reported frequent consumption of certain foods in the previous year, with options ranging from less than one serving per month to six servings per day.
The USDA nutrient database was used to calculate nutrient intake from reported dietary intake and classify foods into five categories.
These categories include unprocessed or fresh foods, processed foods including sugar and oils, processed including packaged foods, ultra-processed including fast food burgers and potato chips, and finally household foods.
The researchers examined cases of stroke, heart disease and other related problems that occurred suddenly and slowly over time.
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This is divided into severe cardiovascular disease – including untimely coronary death, heart attack and stroke, and coronary heart disease – sudden death and heart attacks.
During an average of 18 years of follow-up, 648 cases of heart disease occurred, including 251 cases of sudden cardiovascular disease and 163 cases of sudden coronary heart disease among study participants.
There were 713 deaths during the follow-up period, including 108 deaths from CVD.
Participants who consumed the highest amounts of ultra-processed foods had higher accident rates compared to those who consumed the least amount of ultra-processed foods.
Each daily serving of ultra-processed foods was associated with a 7% increase in cardiovascular disease risk, a 9% increase in the risk of severe coronary heart disease, a 5% increase in total cardiovascular disease, and a 9% increase in disease mortality. heart and blood vessels. .
The researchers also found that eating bread was associated with an increased risk of severe cardiovascular disease, severe coronary artery disease and overall mortality, while eating ultra-processed meat was associated with an increased risk of severe cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease in general.
Salty snack foods were associated with an increased risk of difficult cardiovascular disease, while consumption of low-calorie soft drinks was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
The results are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Source: Daily Mail
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