Ultra-processed food linked to 25% of ALL heart disease deaths, damning research claims

ULTRA-processed foods (UPFs) could be driving a quarter of heart disease cases and deaths, damning new research claims. Crisps, biscuits and bacon could also be behind a quarter of heart disease cases. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Mexico, suggests deaths will fall if people cut their intake of UPFs. Some experts criticised the study, saying there was a lack of evidence to show UPFs increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Previous research has shown UPFs are linked to poor health, increasing the risk of including type 2 diabetes, obesity and even dementia. But whether processing is to blame for health issues, or the fact that many UPFs are high in fat, sugar and salt, is hotly debated. Read more on diet Prof Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of nutrition and food Science at the University of Reading, said: “This modelling study is based on the assumption that so-called ultra-processed food consumption increases the risk of cardio-vascular diseases. “However, there is very little reliable evidence that this is the case.” The study’s findings apply to Canada, as the authors used Canadian data, but cardiovascular disease is also a major cause of death in the UK. Over 8 million people are thought to have it in the UK, and cardiovascular disease accounts for a quarter of all deaths. Most read in Health The term UPF describes food that has been significantly changed from their original form and contain additives and ingredients that you wouldn’t use to cook from scratch. This includes preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colours and flavours. Ice cream, processed meats, crisps, sliced supermarket bread, some breakfast cereals, biscuits, many ready meals and fizzy drinks are just some examples. Brits get about 56 per cent of their calories from UPFs, rising to 68 per cent in teenagers. These figures are far higher than in comparable European countries, such as France and Italy. In the new study, experts, including from the University of Montreal in Canada, used Canadian patient data to examine possible links between UPF consumption and cardiovascular disease. What you should know about ultraprocessed food: Ultra processed foods (UPFs) were defined by Brazilian researchers who made the NOVA classification system. It breaks foods into groups depending on how processed they are. The most natural foods are in group 1, while the most processed are in group 4. The groups do not entirely indicate how healthy a food is. However, it does indicate how processed it is – and studies have linked UPFs to a number of diseases. How does your kitchen compare to the following groups? Unprocessed or minimally processed foods (group 1) - Vegetables and fruits (fresh or frozen) - Dried fruits with no added sugar, honey, or oil - Grains and legumes (chickpeas, lentils) - Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs - Milk without added sugar - Plain yogurt with no added sugar - Nuts and seeds - Spices and herbs - Tea, coffee, water Processed culinary ingredients (group 2) - Iodized salt - Salted butter - Sugar and molasses from cane or beet - Honey extracted from combs - Syrup from maple trees - Vegetable oils crushed from olives or seeds - Butter and lard from milk and pork - Starches extracted from corn and other plants - Vegetable oils with added anti-oxidants - Vinegar with added preservatives Processed foods (group 3) - Canned vegetables, fruits, and legumes - Fruits in syrup - Salted or sugared nuts and seeds - Salted cured or smoked meats - Canned fish - Artisanal breads and cheese Ultra-processed foods (group 4) - Pop and fruit drinks - Sweetened yogurt - Sweet or savoury packaged snacks (e.g., cookies) - Candies and cake mixes - Mass-produced packaged breads and buns - Margarines and spreads - Breakfast cereals - Cereal and energy bars - Energy drinks - Instant soups, sauces, and noodles - Poultry and fish nuggets, hot dogs - Many ready-to-heat products: pre-prepared pies, pasta, and pizza dishes We probably all eat ultra-processed foods on a daily basis. Some of the most common in British diets include: - Ice cream - Ham - Sausages - Crisps - Mass-produced bread - Breakfast cereals - Biscuits - Carbonated drinks - Fruit-flavoured yogurts - Instant soups - Some alcoholic drinks including whisky, gin, and rum Source: British Heart Foundation They focused on conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels, cases of heart attack and stroke, plus deaths and disability related to cardiovascular disease. Analysis showed between 23 and 38 per cent of all cardiovascular disease events in Canada, such as heart attacks and strokes, in 2019 could be linked to UPF intake. This equates to 58,200 to 96,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease plus 10,600 to 17,400 cardiovascular disease-related deaths. Reducing UPF consumption by 20 to 50 per cent may have prevented 16,800 to 45,900 new cases of cardiovascular disease in the country, plus 3,100 to 8,300 cardiovascular disease-related deaths, the experts said. They concluded: “These findings reinforce the need for clinical and public health interventions aimed at reducing UPF intake as a key component of cardiovascular disease prevention… “To drive meaningful change in dietary patterns, comprehensive structural measures are essential. “These include regulations on food taxes, front-of-package labelling, marketing restrictions and reformulation targets aimed at improving food quality.” Prof Alberto Fiore, from Abertay University in Dundee, said the study had limitations. “This is a modelling study, not a clinical trial — it does not measure what actually happened to people who ate more or fewer ultra-processed foods. “It takes a 2015 dietary snapshot, applies a risk multiplier borrowed from studies in France, Italy and the US, and projects how many CVD events might be attributable to UPF consumption.” Prof Fiore said there was “a very wide uncertainty range for a number being put in front of the public”. “But the deeper problem is one this study cannot resolve: are we actually measuring the effect of industrial processing, or are we simply measuring the well-known harms of a poor diet that happens to come in a packet? “The paper itself tells us the answer. It acknowledges that ‘ultra-processed dietary patterns’ are characterised by excess free sugars, saturated fats, and sodium, and low fibre — and it separately estimates that targeting free sugars and sodium alone could prevent thousands of CVD deaths per year in Canada.” He said when the CVD findings are broken down by food subtype, they are “overwhelmingly driven by sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meat products”. “These are foods whose harmfulness has been established for decades on purely nutritional grounds — high free sugar, high saturated fat, high sodium, low fibre — with no need to invoke the concept of industrial processing at all,” he said. Prof Kuhnle also pointed out that “estimating individual UPF intake is very difficult”. The study also assumes that all UPFs are equally harmful – which is not necessarily the case. “UPF is a very broad category, and a high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is more likely to increase the risk of heart disease than increasing the consumption of bread or fish fingers,” Prof Kuhnle went on. “Indeed, those might even be protective due to their content of fibre and essential fatty acids.”