Highly Processed Foods Are Linked To Cancer And Premature Death According To Studies

“Literally hundreds of studies link highly processed foods to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality,” said Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor Emeritus of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University and author of several books on food politics and marketing, including 2015’s “Soda Politics: Take on Big Soda (and Winning)” “These two studies continue the consistency: highly processed foods are unequivocally linked to an increased risk of chronic disease,” said Nestle, which was not involved in either study. The US-based study looked at the diets of more than 200,000 men and women for up to 28 years and found a link between highly processed foods and colon cancer — the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the US — in men, but not to women. Highly processed meats, such as ham, bacon, salami, hot dogs, beef jerky and corned beef, have long been associated with a higher risk of bowel cancer in men and women, according to the World Health Organization, the US Cancer Society and American Institute. for cancer research. The new study, however, found that all types of highly processed foods played a role to some extent. “We found that men in the highest quintile of ultra-processed food consumption, compared to those in the lowest quintile, had a 29 percent higher risk of developing colon cancer,” said Fang Fang Zhang, cancer epidemiologist and department chair. in nutrition epidemiology and data science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. This association remained even after the researchers took into account a person’s body mass index or diet quality. Why didn’t the new study find the same risk for colon cancer in women? “The reasons for such a gender difference are still unknown, but may relate to the different roles played by obesity, sex hormones and metabolic hormones in men versus women,” Zhang said. “Alternatively, women may have chosen ‘healthier’ ultra-processed foods,” said Dr. Robin Mendelsohn, a gastroenterologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the study. The study found that eating “higher consumption of ultra-processed dairy foods — such as yogurt — was associated with a lower risk of colon cancer in women,” Zhang said. “Some highly processed foods are healthier, such as whole grain foods with little or no added sugars and yogurt and dairy foods.” Women did have a higher risk of colon cancer if they ate more ready-to-eat or hot meals such as pizza, he said. However, men were more likely to develop bowel cancer if they ate a lot of meat, poultry or ready-to-eat seafood-based products and sugary drinks, Zhang said. “Americans consume a large percentage of their daily calories from highly processed foods — 58 percent among adults and 67 percent among children,” he added. “We should consider replacing highly processed foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods in our diet to prevent cancer and prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease.”

A connection to premature death

The second study followed more than 22,000 people for twelve years in the Molise region of Italy. The study, which began in March 2005, was designed to assess risk factors for cancer, as well as heart and brain disease. The analysis published in The BMJ compared the role of nutrient-poor foods — such as foods high in sugar and saturated or trans fats — versus highly processed foods in the development of chronic disease and early death. The researchers found that both types of food independently increased the risk of early death, especially from cardiovascular disease. But when the researchers compared the two types of food to see which contributed more, they found that highly processed foods were “of the highest importance in determining mortality risk,” said first author Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist in the department of epidemiology and prevention. at IRCCS Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed of Pozzilli, Italy. In fact, more than 80% of the foods classified by the guidelines followed in the study as nutritionally unhealthy were also highly processed, Bonaccio said in a statement. “This suggests that the increased risk of mortality is not directly (or solely) due to the poor nutritional quality of certain products, but to the fact that these foods are mostly over-processed,” Bonaccio added.

Not real food

Why are highly processed foods so bad for us? First, they are “ready-to-eat or heated industrial preparations made with ingredients extracted from food or synthesized in laboratories, with little or no whole food,” Zhang told CNN. These overly processed foods are often high in added sugars and salt, low in dietary fiber, and full of chemical additives such as artificial colors, flavors, or stabilizers. “While some ultra-processed foods may be considered healthier than others, in general, we would recommend staying away from ultra-processed foods altogether and focusing on healthy unprocessed foods — fruits, vegetables, legumes,” Mendelsohn said. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the results of a controlled clinical trial comparing a processed and unprocessed diet. The researchers found that those who ate a highly processed diet ate at a faster rate — and ate an additional 500 calories more per day than people who ate unprocessed foods. and lost an equivalent amount to the untreated diet,” the NIH noted. “There’s clearly something about highly processed foods that makes people eat more of them without necessarily wanting to or realizing it.” Nestle said. “The effects of ultra-processed foods are quite clear. The reasons for the effects are not yet known,” Nestle continued. “It would be nice to know why, but until we do, it’s best to advise eating ultra-processed foods in as small amounts as possible.”

title: “Highly Processed Foods Are Linked To Cancer And Premature Death According To Studies Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-18” author: “Michael Bozeman”

“Literally hundreds of studies link highly processed foods to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality,” said Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor Emeritus of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University and author of several books on food politics and marketing, including 2015’s “Soda Politics: Take on Big Soda (and Winning)” “These two studies continue the consistency: highly processed foods are unequivocally linked to an increased risk of chronic disease,” said Nestle, which was not involved in either study. The US-based study looked at the diets of more than 200,000 men and women for up to 28 years and found a link between highly processed foods and colon cancer — the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the US — in men, but not to women. Highly processed meats, such as ham, bacon, salami, hot dogs, beef jerky and corned beef, have long been associated with a higher risk of bowel cancer in men and women, according to the World Health Organization, the US Cancer Society and American Institute. for cancer research. The new study, however, found that all types of highly processed foods played a role to some extent. “We found that men in the highest quintile of ultra-processed food consumption, compared to those in the lowest quintile, had a 29 percent higher risk of developing colon cancer,” said Fang Fang Zhang, cancer epidemiologist and department chair. in nutrition epidemiology and data science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. This association remained even after the researchers took into account a person’s body mass index or diet quality. Why didn’t the new study find the same risk for colon cancer in women? “The reasons for such a gender difference are still unknown, but may relate to the different roles played by obesity, sex hormones and metabolic hormones in men versus women,” Zhang said. “Alternatively, women may have chosen ‘healthier’ ultra-processed foods,” said Dr. Robin Mendelsohn, a gastroenterologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the study. The study found that eating “higher consumption of ultra-processed dairy foods — such as yogurt — was associated with a lower risk of colon cancer in women,” Zhang said. “Some highly processed foods are healthier, such as whole grain foods with little or no added sugars and yogurt and dairy foods.” Women did have a higher risk of colon cancer if they ate more ready-to-eat or hot meals such as pizza, he said. However, men were more likely to develop bowel cancer if they ate a lot of meat, poultry or ready-to-eat seafood-based products and sugary drinks, Zhang said. “Americans consume a large percentage of their daily calories from highly processed foods — 58 percent among adults and 67 percent among children,” he added. “We should consider replacing highly processed foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods in our diet to prevent cancer and prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease.”

A connection to premature death

The second study followed more than 22,000 people for twelve years in the Molise region of Italy. The study, which began in March 2005, was designed to assess risk factors for cancer, as well as heart and brain disease. The analysis published in The BMJ compared the role of nutrient-poor foods — such as foods high in sugar and saturated or trans fats — versus highly processed foods in the development of chronic disease and early death. The researchers found that both types of food independently increased the risk of early death, especially from cardiovascular disease. But when the researchers compared the two types of food to see which contributed more, they found that highly processed foods were “of the highest importance in determining mortality risk,” said first author Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist in the department of epidemiology and prevention. at IRCCS Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed of Pozzilli, Italy. In fact, more than 80% of the foods classified by the guidelines followed in the study as nutritionally unhealthy were also highly processed, Bonaccio said in a statement. “This suggests that the increased risk of mortality is not directly (or solely) due to the poor nutritional quality of certain products, but to the fact that these foods are mostly over-processed,” Bonaccio added.

Not real food

Why are highly processed foods so bad for us? First, they are “ready-to-eat or heated industrial preparations made with ingredients extracted from food or synthesized in laboratories, with little or no whole food,” Zhang told CNN. These overly processed foods are often high in added sugars and salt, low in dietary fiber, and full of chemical additives such as artificial colors, flavors, or stabilizers. “While some ultra-processed foods may be considered healthier than others, in general, we would recommend staying away from ultra-processed foods altogether and focusing on healthy unprocessed foods — fruits, vegetables, legumes,” Mendelsohn said. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the results of a controlled clinical trial comparing a processed and unprocessed diet. The researchers found that those who ate a highly processed diet ate at a faster rate — and ate an additional 500 calories more per day than people who ate unprocessed foods. and lost an equivalent amount to the untreated diet,” the NIH noted. “There’s clearly something about highly processed foods that makes people eat more of them without necessarily wanting to or realizing it.” Nestle said. “The effects of ultra-processed foods are quite clear. The reasons for the effects are not yet known,” Nestle continued. “It would be nice to know why, but until we do, it’s best to advise eating ultra-processed foods in as small amounts as possible.”