We no longer cook like the generations of our grandmothers. The combination of ingredients is done in factories and not in pots or stoves. In fact, more and more Spanish households choose to use these culinary aids . A way to justify that more sauces and ready-to-use broths are being purchased , and even products that can be heated at the moment, as stated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
This means that we are outsourcing the cooking and for that, we choose ultra-processed products . They save time in preparation (without making a mess) and money, but they harm health . Various studies warn of their consequences. The latest one, analyzing data from eight countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom), shows that premature deaths attributable to processed food consumption increase significantly depending on the proportion of intake.
With this new warning, appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine , the medical community reinforces the global call to action to reduce its consumption, with the support of regulatory and fiscal policies that promote healthier environments . In fact, a recent study in Nature Food warned that only through labeling are people made aware of the harm of these foods. Leaving it up to the consumer to know what is harmful and what is not.
Eduardo Augusto Fernandes Nilson, from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz, Brazil) and lead author of the study, makes it clear that "beyond the individual impact, evaluating deaths from all causes associated with their intake allows for a global estimation of the effect of industrial food processing on health."
This impact on the body comes, Nilson explains, "from the high content of critical nutrients (sodium, trans fats, and sugar) and the changes that foods undergo during their industrial processing and the use of artificial ingredients, including colorants, flavorings, artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, and many other additives and technological aids."
What is the harm of ultra-processed foods?
Ultra-processed foods can represent up to 58% of total daily intake in some countries and have rapidly increased in many low- and middle-income countries in recent decades. These are industrial formulas ready to consume or heat up made with ingredients extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories, with few or no whole foods in their composition. They have gradually replaced traditional foods and meals made with fresh and minimally processed ingredients.
In this category, it is worth noting that it includes sweetened or salty snacks, soft drinks, instant noodles, meat products, pizzas, pre-prepared pasta dishes, cookies, and confectionery products. All of these are made by assembling food substances, mostly basic ingredients, and 'cosmetic' additives (particularly flavors, colorants, and emulsifiers) through industrial processes.
These are industrial formulas ready to consume or heat up made with ingredients extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories, with few or no whole foods in their composition. They have gradually replaced traditional foods and meals made with fresh and minimally processed ingredients.
Nilson explains that his analysis is based on data from nationally representative dietary surveys and mortality data from the eight selected countries. "First, we estimated a linear association between the participation of ultra-processed foods in the diet and mortality from all causes, so that each 10% increase in the inclusion of processed foods in the diet increases the risk of death from all causes by 3%."
Based on this, the researcher points out that using relative risks and food consumption data for all countries (ranging from 15% of total intake in Colombia to over 50% of calories in the US), they built a model that estimated that the percentage of preventable premature deaths from all causes by choosing ultra-processed foods can vary from 4% in countries with lower consumption to almost 14% in those with higher intake.
In another previous study, published in The British Medical Journal , mortality was already pointed out as a consequence of the abuse of these products. Here, the risks were listed: a 50% increase related to cardiovascular diseases, between 48% and 53% more anxiety, depression, and common mental disorders, and a 12% increase in type 2 diabetes.
Here, as Carmen Romero Ferreiro, professor of human nutrition and dietetics, responsible for research in nutrition at the Francisco de Vitoria University, pointed out to SMC, "it was observed that ready-to-eat products based on meat, poultry, and seafood were associated with higher mortality from all causes, as were artificially sweetened and sugary drinks, dairy desserts, and ultra-processed breakfast products."
With all this on the table, Nilson emphasizes that "this shows that policies are needed to discourage their consumption globally, promoting traditional dietary patterns based on fresh and minimally processed local foods," Nilson emphasizes.
Pilar Pérez