Avoid ultra-processed foods when preparing meals to avoid health risk. ©Olga Vasilkova

Ultra-processed foods raise health risks

As we cope with the pandemic, comfort and convenience foods can be very attractive. People in high-risk categories who refrain from in-store shopping or others who are busily working from home while juggling home schooling may depend on curbside pickup, which can make choosing fresh fruits and vegetables difficult.

Foods produced with extensive processing increasing fill supermarket shelves.  These foods are generally low in essential nutrients, high in sugar, oil, and salt.  They are also easily over consumed, especially during these high-stress days.

A study from Italy confirms what we know deep within—convenience foods, like microwave meals and tasty bags of chips and cookies, are not our friends. In fact, these processed foods are deadly.

The main culprit could be sugar, which is added in substantial amounts to ultra-processed foods.  However, excess sugar accounts for only 40% of the increased death risk.  Researchers posit that the processing itself causes deep modifications in the structure and composition of the nutrients.

These findings are were reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Researchers analyzed the eating habits of 22,000 participants for more than 8 years and found that people who consumed a high amount of ultra-processed foods had an increased risk of death from any cause of 26%, and an increase of 58% from cardiovascular diseases specifically.

This study, and other international research inform us that healthy eating—involving fresh or minimally processed foods—is paramount.  Better to spend a few more minutes preparing fresh foods rather than nuking a container in the microwave or grabbing a pre-packaged bag of snacks.  The extra time will reap tremendous future health rewards.

Finding are from the Moli-sani Study began in March 2005 and involves about 25,000 citizens living in the Molise region of Italy with the aim to learn about environmental and genetic factors underlying cardiovascular disease, cancer and degenerative disorders. The Moli-sani Study, now based in the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, has transformed an entire Italian region into a large research lab.

The I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed The Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Health Care Neuromed in Pozzilli (Italy) is a landmark, at Italian and international level, for research and therapy in the field of neurological and cardiovascular diseases.