It’s common to hear the advice to “consume less processed food.” Processed meals are challenging to avoid. Many common foods, like dried herbs, tinned fish, and roasted nuts, have undergone some form of processing. Some processed meals benefit humans, but some are better categorized as “sometimes” foods. With the help of new technology and ingredients, industrial food processing produces highly appealing, inexpensive, and convenient foods. With the use of new technology and ingredients, industrial food processing produces highly appealing, inexpensive, and convenient foods. These items are referred to as “ultra-processed” foods. Evidence suggests that these items are dangerous to your health because they contain components you wouldn’t find in your home pantry.
Eating a lot of ultra-processed foods can cause heart disease and early death in both men and women. These foods also significantly increase men’s risk of colon cancer. This is according to the extensive studies of people in the United States and Italy. The British medical journal, The BMJ, on Wednesday, published this extensive research.
Expert’s Thoughts on Ultra-processed Food
According to accredited practising dietitian Christina Ross, “ultra-processed meals contain additives such as antioxidants, stabilizers, and preservatives.” They also contain other substances to make the food tastier and more appealing. Ultra-processed foods contain ingredients including casein, whey protein, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and maltodextrin. These ingredients indicate that a food has undergone extensive processing. Many packaged sweets, including doughnuts, margarine, “fruit juice” drinks, quick sauces, pasta, and pizza meals, are examples of ultra-processed foods.
Marion Nestle stated, “There are hundreds of studies linking ultra-processed meals to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and general mortality.” A debate on ultra-processed food was organized by IFT and Intelligence Squared. In this argument, Nestle claimed that multiple research studies undertaken since 2009 have demonstrated a strong correlation between eating ultra-processed foods and obesity. According to her, reducing the consumption of highly processed foods is a top priority of public health.
Colorectal Cancer Linkage
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in the US. It is also called colon cancer. The US-based researchers discovered a link between ultra-processed foods and colorectal cancer in men but not in women. The study looked at the diets of over 200,000 men and women for up to 28 years. Ultra-processed meats include ham, bacon, salami, hotdogs, beef jerky, and corned beef. These foods are linked to a greater risk of colon cancer in both men and women. This research is according to the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the American Institute for Cancer Research. The latest study, on the other hand, discovered that all forms of ultra-processed food had an impact to some extent.
Fang Fang Zhang is a cancer epidemiologist. She said at Tufts University in Boston, we observed that men in the highest percentile of ultra-processed food consumption had a 29% increased chance of developing colorectal cancer. This is compared to those who are in the lowest quintile.
Colon Cancer Risk In Women
The latest study found that women have a lower risk of colorectal cancer than men. The causes of this gender disparity are yet unknown. According to Zhang, it may also involve the distinct functions that sex hormones, metabolic hormones, and obesity have in men versus women. The study also discovered that eating ultra-processed dairy products was linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer in women. Some highly processed foods, such as whole grains with little to no added sugar, are healthier than others. But the risk may increase if they consume more ready-to-eat or heated foods, such as pizza.
She continued, that Americans consume a significant portion of their daily calories from highly processed foods. The figure includes 58% for adults and 67% for youngsters. We should think about replacing ultra-processed items in our diet with unprocessed or slightly processed meals. In this way, we can prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.
According to Dr Robin Mendelsohn, there is another reason that women have a low risk for colon cancer. She said women may have chosen “healthier” ultra-processed foods. She is a gastroenterologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
The second investigation monitored more than 22,000 people in the Italian area of Molise for twelve years. The March 2005 study’s goal was to evaluate the risk factors for cancer, heart disease, and mental disorders.
The Risk Of Mortality
There is an analysis that was published in The BMJ. In this analysis, there was a comparison between nutrient-poor foods and highly processed foods. Nutrient-poor foods are those that are high in sugar and saturated or trans-fats. Ultra-processed foods play a role in the development of chronic disease and early death. Researchers discovered that both dietary categories raised the probability of dying young on their own.
After the comparison, researchers found that highly processed foods were a major cause of early death. According to Marialaura Bonaccio, ultra-processed foods are “essential to determine mortality risk.” According to the standards used in the study, 80% or more of the meals labelled as nutritionally harmful were also ultra-processed. Bonaccio further added that it means that a higher risk of mortality is not directly related to the poor nutritional quality of products. But it is related to those foods that are mostly ultra-processed.
Ultra-processed Food Impacts
Zhang said that these are industrial formulations that are ready to eat or heat and are manufactured using chemicals. These chemicals are taken from foods or synthesized in laboratories, with little or no whole foods. These ultra-processed foods frequently have high levels of salt and added sugars, insufficient dietary fibre, and chemical additives. The outcomes of a controlled clinical experiment contrasting a processed and an unprocessed diet were released by the NIH in 2019. Researchers discovered that people with an ultra-processed diet consumed 500 calories more per day than those following an unprocessed diet. The NIH reported that individuals gained an average of 0.9 kilos while following the ultra-processed diet. These individuals lost an equivalent amount while following the unprocessed diet. Nestle stated, “There is certainly something about them that makes people consume more of them without any need.”
Concluding Note:
There is no doubt that some ultra-processed meals may be thought of as better than others. But in general, we recommend that you stay away from ultra-processed foods totally and focus on healthy unprocessed foods. The best diet to follow to stay healthy and lower your risk of colon cancer is one that includes whole, nutrient-dense foods. You can still occasionally eat your favourite highly processed foods.
