Nov
24
2024

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

By | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diet, food, meat, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, processed meat

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An article in the medical journal “Medical News Today” found that ultraprocessed food leads to premature aging.

What are ultraprocessed foods?

The NOVA Food Classification System explains what ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are and what other ones are not. Examples of ultraprocessed foods are: fatty, sweet, savory or salty packaged snacks, pre-prepared poultry and fish ‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks.’ Others are cola, soda and other carbonated soft drinks, pastries, cakes and cake mix. Generally speaking, the food processors add too much salt, sugar and saturated fat. They often also add food preservatives, coloring, and flavor enhancers.

What do ultraprocessed foods cause?

Sugary beverages lead to blood sugar peaks and insulin surges. This in turn can cause type 2 diabetes later on. Melanie Murphy Richter, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist said that “overly salty snacks like chips, crackers, and instant noodles, and other UPFs with trans fats and hydrogenated oils all should ideally be avoided”. Read labels before you buy any food product.  Hydrogenated oils and trans fats are increasing LDL cholesterol leading to premature hardening of the arteries. This can cause strokes and heart attacks.

Hot dogs, sausages, and deli meats contain nitrates and nitrites as preservatives. This can form carcinogenic compounds like nitrosamines during cooking or metabolism. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meats to contain Group 1 carcinogens.  These processed meats also contain high amounts of sodium and saturated fats. This causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Telomere length reduced by ultraprocessed foods

Another study regarding consumption of ultraprocessed foods came out in 2020. There were 886 participants aged 57–91. Researchers measured telomere length in saliva samples. Subjects with the highest UPF consumption had almost twice the odds of having short telomeres in comparison to those with the lowest UPF consumption. Patients with shorter telomeres were much more prone to chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease. The overall death rate was much higher in patients with shorter telomeres. This confirms what another study also found.

Ultraprocessed foods are causing obesity and weight gain

Another study found that ultraprocessed foods caused weight gain and obesity. The authors of this study pointed out that US residents eat up to 70% of the total calorie input as UPFs. They reviewed the literature and found that UPF consumption raises the risk of obesity. Also, chronic conditions like cancer, strokes, heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and depression are directly linked to UPF consumption. Because of the development of these chronic health conditions the life expectancy is about 10% shorter than for those who don’t consume UPFs.

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

Conclusion

Over the past several decades food companies produced more and more ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). You see them on grocery store shelves. They contain high amounts of sugar, saturated fat and salt. This can cause cardiovascular disease. Added food preservatives, coloring, and flavor enhancers are also of concern as they may lead to UPF food addiction. Obesity, cancer, heart attacks and strokes are often the final result of UPF overconsumption. Another publication that I reviewed showed that consumption of UPF leads to shorter telomeres in all body cells. We know from other publications that short telomeres cause chronic diseases and premature deaths because of organ failures. The bottom line is that you want to reduce your UPF food intake and increase your whole food intake. This will strengthen your immune system, prevent heart attacks, strokes and cancer. Your telomeres will stay long and your life expectancy increases by about 6 years.

Sep
21
2024

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

By | Diabetes, meat, Processed food, processed meat, red meat

A clinical study at the end of 2023 showed that red meat and processed meat can become a cause of diabetes. The authors published the results of this study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on December 2023.

Results of the study

Notably, the study consisted of several pooled studies. To emphasize, there was a total of 216,695 participants and the authors followed them up every 2 to 4 years. In detail, the investigators analyzed food frequency questionnaires for consumption of red meat, processed meat, and consumption of nuts and legumes. In particular, the authors compared the highest and lowest red meat consumption quintiles. Those who ate the highest amounts of total red meat had a risk of 1.62-fold to develop diabetes. With regard to processed meat the risk was 1.51-fold to develop diabetes. And those who consumed unprocessed red meat had a risk of 1.40-fold to develop diabetes.

• When people replaced 1 serving of meat per day with nuts and legumes, this reduced their risk for diabetes by 30%.
• A group that had replaced processed red meat by 1 serving/day with nuts and legumes reduced the risk for diabetes by 41%.
• Replacing unprocessed red meat by 1 serving/day with nuts and legumes reduced the risk for diabetes by 29%.

Some scientists criticized the study saying that it was not controlled for elevated body mass index (BMI). A person with an elevated BMI is at a higher risk of developing diabetes on its own and this can interfere with a study like this.

Alternative large study confirming risk of red meat to develop diabetes

This study was a meta-analysis, which involved data from 31 cohorts participating in the InterConnect project. There was a total of 1,966,444 adults in this study and 107,271 patients developed diabetes over a period of 10 years.

• People who ate unprocessed meat had a 10% increase of diabetes risk compared to people not consuming meat.
• When processed meat was consumed it caused diabetes in 15% of the study group.
• On the other hand, poultry consumption caused only 8% of diabetes.

There were slight regional differences for the same foods. In the discussion of the data the authors pointed out that in comparison to the first study mentioned above their risk ratios were lower, because all the data was corrected for compounding factors that could distort the figures. As an example, they noted that without BMI adjustment unprocessed meat would have caused 18% of diabetes. On the other hand, processed meat would have caused 23% of diabetes and 21% of diabetes for poultry consumption.

Recommendation to reduce or eliminate red meat consumption

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends to eat less than 18 oz. of red meat or processed meat per week to avoid cancer development.
You can replace meat with nuts, legumes (lentils and beans), tofu and vegetables.

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

Conclusion

Two independent large studies concluded that consumption of red meat and processed red meat contributed to diabetes development in adults. We also know from other studies that it can cause cancer. The key is to replace red and processed red meat by nuts, tofu, legumes and other vegetables. Both studies have shown that doing so reduces the risk for diabetes.