In a new study from McMaster University and elsewhere, researchers found a higher intake of ultra-processed food is associated with higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Ultra-processed foods include packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals, ready meals containing food additives, and reconstituted meat and fish products—often containing high levels of added sugar, fat and salt, but lacking in vitamins and fiber.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is more common in industrialized nations and it is thought that dietary factors might play a role, but data linking ultra-processed food intake with IBD are limited.
In the study, the team drew on detailed dietary information from 116,087 adults aged 35-70 years living in 21 countries.
Participants were enrolled in the study between 2003 and 2016 and were assessed at least every three years.
Over an average follow-up of 9.7 years, new diagnoses of IBD, including Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, were recorded.
During this time, 467 participants developed IBD (90 with Crohn’s disease and 377 with ulcerative colitis).
The researchers found that a higher intake of ultra-processed food was linked to a higher risk of IBD.
For example, compared with less than one serving of ultra-processed food per day, they found an 82% increased risk of IBD among those who consumed five or more servings per day, and a 67% increased risk for 1-4 servings per day.
Different subgroups of ultra-processed food, including soft drinks, refined sweetened foods, salty snacks, and processed meat, each was associated with higher risks of IBD.
In contrast, intakes of white meat, red meat, dairy, starch, and fruit, vegetables, and legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) were not linked to IBD.
Results were consistent for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and were similar after further analysis to test the risk of developing IBD based on age and region, suggesting that the findings are robust.
These findings support the hypothesis that intake of ultra-processed foods could be an environmental factor that increases the risk of IBD.
As white meat, unprocessed red meat, dairy, starch, and fruit, vegetables, and legumes were not found to be linked to the development of IBD, this study suggests that it might not be the food itself that confers this risk but rather the way the food is processed or ultra-processed, they explain.
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The study is published in The BMJ. One author of the study is Neeraj Narula.
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