ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS AND RISK OF MORTALITY - ARE THEY ALL BAD

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
So now we're going to be looking at ultraprocessed foods today.
A higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods is associated with increased
all cause and cardiovascular mortality. Multiple large scale perspective corehord
studies and meta analysis remember those of men analysis containing
many studies consistently demonstrate a positive dose dependent relationship, which

(00:22):
means the correlational study between ultra processed food intake and
mortality risks. For example, each ten percent increase in the
proportion of ultra processed foods in the diet is associated
with three to fourteen percent increase and all cause mortality
risk depending on the population studied and baseline consumption levels.
The association is generally linear, with some evidence of sex

(00:43):
specific differences and a stronger effect than women. Cardiovascular mortality
appears to be a key driver of this association, with
hazard ratios for cardiovascular death ranging from one point one
point seven to one point sixty six and the highest
versus lowest consumption group. Just to give you an idea,
what this means is people who consume the highest amounts

(01:04):
of something like alcohol, sugar, or ultra processed foods have
a higher risk of dying from health related heart related
problems compared to those who consume the least, So it
hasard ratio. This is a measure of risk. So it
has a ratio of one point one point seven means
the high consumption has seventeen percent higher risk of cardiovascular
death than the low consumption group. It hazard ratio of

(01:26):
one point sixty six means as the sixty six percent
higher risk. The rain shows. The risk varies depending on
the specific study or the group that was being analyzed.
Bottom line, cardiovascular death is a major reason why the
high consumption group has worse health outcomes compared to the
low consumption group. For want another example, imagine a study
of alcohol consumption. If the group drinking the most alcoholics

(01:48):
it has a ratio of one point five for cardiovascular
death compared to the group drinking the least. It means
the heavy drinkers are fifty percent more likely to die.
So we move back through the processing foods. Ultra processing
the relationship with cancer mortality is less consistent, with several
studies finding no significant association. Again, subtypes of ultra processed foods,

(02:09):
such as processed meats and sugar sweetened beverages, show particularly
strong associations with mortality. The American Heart Association specifically recommends
minimizing ultra processed food intake as part of dietary guidance
to improve cardio metabolic health, citing evidence leaking these foods
to increase risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and

(02:29):
type two diabetes. In summary, the current consensus in the
medical literature is that greater exposure to ultraprocessed foods is
the associated with the higher risk of all cause and
cardiovascular In case you're wondering what are ultra processed foods,
they're industrially manufactured products that undergo multiple processing steps and
contain ingredients not typically found in home kitchens. So these

(02:53):
include things like additives like emulsifiers, artificial flavors and colors,
sweeteners and preservatives, substances like high fruit toase, corn syrup,
or hydrogenated oils. These ups are designed to be convenient,
long lasting, and hyper palatable, tasty and easy to overeat.
That's what that means. But they're often high in sugar, salt,
and unhealthy fats. So we can look at a list

(03:16):
of Some of these are sodas or carbonated soft drinks
like you know those are high in sugar, artificial sweeteners,
Energy and sports drinks Believe it or not contain additives
like sweetness and stabilizers. Sweetened fruit juices they include a
high fruit tose, corn syrup amount. Snacks like potato chips, crackers, candies,
chocolate bars, packaged cookies, snack cakes, pastries, u sweet and

(03:42):
savory packaged snacks like Cheetos or Doritos. Breakfast foods like
frosted flakes or fruit loups, cereal and granola bars, flavored
instant oats, mass produce package breads like white sandwich bread,
package pies and pizza crusts, store bought muffins, donuts, and cakes.
They're high in sugar, fats, and additives. Processed meats like

(04:07):
sausage or bacon. They contain nitrates and nitrites. Chicken nuggets
and fish sticks made with reconstituted meat, starches and mulcifiers.
Package deli meat and cold cuts, frozen pizzas and pre
prepared meals, instant noodles and soups, packaged burgers or patties,
even including vegan and plant based meats. Flavored yogurts, processed

(04:31):
cheese slices, and spreads, non dairy milk alternatives, ice cream
and frozen desserts, and to wrap it up condiments like ketchup,
salad dressings and sauces. So again, these are ingredeents that
are not found in homes. They are linked to cardiovascular mortality.

(04:56):
Now it's not all bad news for ultra processed foods.
It's a little more nuanced than that. Some of these
upfs have nutritional benefits and practical advantages or minimal health impacts.
So fortified foods like breakfast cereals or plant based milk
are terms or fortified with minerals and vitamins. These can
help address nutrient deficiencies. For example, some fortified cereals provide

(05:21):
fiber or full eight, supporting heart health if it's low
in sugar. Functional foods like upfs, like low fat yogurts
with probiotics or marginine with plant sterles are designed to
improve health outcomes. Unfortunately, it does afford convenience and accessibility.
They tend to be more affordable, with shelf stable and

(05:42):
easy to prepare, making them a practical choice for busy
families or even low income families. The processing techniques like
pasteurization or adding preservatives ensure that upfs are safe and
have long shelf lifes, reducing food waste and risk of
food borne illness, so they're good for emergency, cultural and
emotional value as well. That can play a role psychologically

(06:04):
if you're interested in that. But not all upfs are
equal either. The NOVA classification system lumps all upfs together,
but their health impacts very considerably. For example, sugary sodas
and processed meats like hot dogs are strongly linked to
cardiovascular risks due to high sugar, sodium, and nitrates. In contrast,

(06:25):
upfs like whole grain breads within mulcifiers or flavored yogurts
may have neutral even positive effects. So again it really
just depends on which ones you're having, how much you're having.
It's a balance, honestly, it's a balance of the upfs
if you have. If you love fruit loops and you're
having it a few times a week, that isn't going
to destroy you, especially if you're active. You're getting ten

(06:47):
thousand plus steps, you're doing a little bit of weight training,
you're eating healthy the rest of the day to day,
getting your nutrients, drinking a lot of water. If you're
staying healthy. You should be just fine. That's not something
to deprive you yourself of it. It isn't going to cause
huge issues. The problem is if you're having fruit loops
every single day, you're eating burgers at night, you're not
being active. You're getting two or three thousand steps a day.

(07:10):
My recommendation is this, If you don't know how many
steps you're getting, buy a little step counter. Check it out.
You'll be surprised. And if you can increase it. Let's
say you're averaging two to three thousand steps a day,
you increase it to eight to nine thousand steps a day,
you'll start losing weight. You'll start feeling better. Start increasing
your water intake, improve your sleep, make sure you get

(07:30):
extra sleep. You'll be a lot healthier. I have a
good one. Everybody