A new study involving nearly 10 million people has linked eating ultra-processed foods like snacks, sugary cereals, and ready-to-eat meals to 32 serious health issues, including heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and even anxiety. Dr. Zheng Yuanyu explained on the “Health 1+1” program how these foods are not only addictive but also disrupt our bodies’ natural hunger signals, leading to overeating and numerous health problems. With such compelling evidence, it’s clear that our love for junk food might be causing more harm than we ever imagined.
Eating junk food is just as common in our culture today as eating naturally is not so long ago. A relationship between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and an elevated risk of 32 diseases, including heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and early death, was found in a systematic review that was published in The BMJ this year and involved 9.8 million participants.
On the “Health 1+1” show, Dr. Zheng Yuanyu, a former attending physician in the infectious disease department at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, talked about the addictive qualities of highly processed foods and sensible methods for consuming them in moderation reported JoJo Novaes and Ben Lam from The Epoch Times.
Understanding Ultra-Processed Foods
According to a BMJ Group press release, ready-to-eat meals, packaged baked goods, snacks, sugary cereals, and fizzy drinks are a few examples of ultra-processed foods. These products go through several industrial processing stages and are often enhanced with flavorings, emulsifiers, colorings, and other ingredients. They also frequently have low vitamin and fiber content and high added sugar, fat, and salt content.
The term “processed foods” is broad, according to Dr. Zheng, and not all processed foods fall into the category of “ultra-processed” or unhealthy meals. Foods that are heated and sealed in a factory, for instance, are regarded as lightly processed, he explained. Even yet, some straightforward processed foods may still be harmful. The most popular ultra-processed foods have less nutritious profiles because they are made using more complicated production techniques and include numerous chemical additives. Examples of these foods include a variety of snacks, drinks, and factory-produced bread and cookies.
7 Dangers of Consuming Ultra-Processed Foods
Fifty-five different trials with a total of 9.8 million individuals were included in the BMJ review. The review’s numerous unfavorable health consequences can be roughly categorized into the following seven categories:
- Mortality: All-cause mortality, cancer-related mortality, cardiovascular disease-related mortality, and heart disease-related mortality.
- Cancer: Overall cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, central nervous system tumors, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer.
- Mental health: Poor sleep, anxiety, common mental disorders, and depression.
- Cardiovascular health: Cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL cholesterol levels.
- Respiratory health: Asthma and wheezing.
- Gastrointestinal health: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
- Metabolic health: Abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, overweight, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes.
After evaluating the reliability and caliber of the data from numerous studies, the researchers concluded that a higher risk of cardiometabolic problems, prevalent mental illnesses, and death outcomes were specifically linked to excessive consumption of ultra-processed meals.
The researchers found “compelling evidence” that consuming more ultra-processed meals was associated with a 50 percent higher risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease and a 48 to 53 percent higher risk of anxiety and common mental illnesses. Moreover, it was linked to a twelve percent higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes.
A higher intake of ultra-processed foods was also linked to a 21 percent increased risk of all-cause mortality, a 22 percent increased risk of depression, and a 40 to 66 percent increased risk of death from heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and sleep issues, according to highly suggestive evidence.
Dr. Zheng emphasized that although there is a correlation between ultra-processed foods and many ailments, this does not always mean that they cause the diseases. He did, however, stress that the strongest link, supported by comparatively high-quality research, is the one linking ultra-processed foods to diabetes. For people who are already at risk for diabetes, the condition can worsen immunological and circulatory systems throughout the body, raising their chance of developing several additional illnesses.
Dr. Zheng referenced a 2023 study that looked into the link between the risk of mental illness and ultra-processed foods and was published in JAMA Network Open. According to the study, eating a lot of processed food may make depression more likely to occur. After following over 30,000 medical professionals for 15 years, the researchers discovered that the risk of depression was 49% higher for those in the top quintile of ultra-processed food intake than for those in the lowest quintile. Eating more ultra-processed foods—especially those with artificial sweeteners—was found to dramatically raise the risk of depression, according to the study.
Why Ultra-Processed Foods Can Be Addictive
According to a 2023 study that was published in The BMJ, 14% of adults and 12% of youngsters may have problems because of an addiction to highly processed foods.
According to Dr. Zheng, problems with ultra-processed food addiction can have a big effect on mental health, just like addiction to smartphones and alcohol. He clarified that complex components found in highly processed foods, including refined fats and carbs, can cause the brain to produce a significant quantity of dopamine, comparable to levels set off by stimulants like alcohol and nicotine, which can lead to addiction.
Moreover, ultra-processed meals have a high content of refined carbohydrates and frequently include additional fats and chemical additives, as noted by Dr. Zheng. Owing to different processing techniques, some foods may have specific effects that interfere with the body’s systems for controlling hunger, causing an unintentional increase in calorie intake. Overindulgence in calories over an extended period may lead to subsequent health problems.
How to Reduce Your Intake of Ultra-Processed Foods
The temptation of highly processed foods is inherent in today’s setting. Dr. Zheng underlined how critical it is to understand these foods’ addictive qualities and potential health risks. Consuming them excessively should be avoided and they should be enjoyed in moderation. It is critical to seek early intervention if addiction symptoms manifest.
Selecting comparatively healthier options is advised when selecting ultra-processed foods. For example, choose cereals for breakfast that are richer in fiber and lower in sugar, sodium, and salt; stay away from refined carbohydrates. Cereals with added sugar can be combined with unsweetened cereals to further lower the total sugar level.
Using a well-known chocolate cake product as an example, Dr. Zheng showed how many chemical additions, including emulsifiers, complicated thickeners, and agents to improve the quality of baking fat, are present in the product’s ingredient list. In addition to 0.62 ounces (17.7 grams) of fat, each 3.53 ounces (100 grams) of the cake has 0.93 ounces (26.3 grams) of sugar, or more than 25% of its composition, suggesting an extremely high sugar content. Dr. Zheng advises against eating such a cake regularly and instead saves it for exceptional occasions.
Recently, GreatGameInternational reported that Matthew Little from the Epoch Times revealed alarming findings about ultra-processed foods, linking them to cancer, depression, and anxiety. This report underscores the urgent need for healthier food alternatives.
One Response
I agree. The last foods children need are birthday cakes, cookies, salt-water taffy, coca-cola and other sodas, processed breakfast cereals, donuts, candy, hamburgers and hot dogs loaded with wheat that feeds epstein barr virus (per Anthony William, who has tons of testimonies on how people have been literally cured by eating over 65% of raw foods and juices). Of course, all the 5G cell towers and other ways of radiation that is being bombarded to all living things on this planet, contributes to “early deaths” for us all unless we maintain our distance and turn off all electronics when not in use. Since I’ve been cooking less and eating more raw foods that include making morning smoothies, I’ve lost over 23 pounds, my physical energy has returned, I’m stronger, I have the energy to exercise now, my brain fog has diminished, and my house is cleaner because I have the energy to clean it instead of “sleeping almost day and night.” No wheat, no eggs, no red meat, no dairy, no cheese = health.