Scientists from New York University found that eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and death, with each additional daily serving found to further increased the risk.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting the heart benefits of limiting ultra-processed foods.
The research is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and was conducted by Filippa Juul et al.
When foods are processed it may remove beneficial nutrients and other naturally occurring benefits, while adding non-beneficial nutrients and food additives.
Processing also changes the physical structure of foods. The consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked with being overweight/obese, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes.
In the study, researchers used data from the Framingham Offspring Study to examine the role ultra-processed foods play in heart disease.
They tested 3,003 middle-aged adults (on average 53.5 years). Overall, 5.8% had diabetes and 19% had high blood pressure.
The researchers classified food questionnaire food items into five categories:
During an average of 18 years of follow-up, there were 713 deaths, including 108 heart disease deaths.
The team found participants with the highest intakes of ultra-processed foods had higher incident rates compared to those consuming the least amount of ultra-processed foods.
Each daily serving of ultra-processed food was associated with a 7% increase in the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and a 9% increase in the risk of coronary heart disease.
The researchers also found that intake of bread, salty snack foods, low-calorie soft drinks, and ultra-processed meat were linked to an increased risk of heart disease and death.
The team says eating ultra-processed foods makes up over half of the daily calories in the average American diet and is increasingly consumed worldwide.
As poor diet is a major modifiable risk factor for heart disease, it represents a critical target in prevention efforts.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that one avocado a day could protect you from heart disease, and this diet could help reverse heart failure.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that walnuts could help lower blood pressure, and results showing how to eat less salt to protect your blood pressure and heart health.
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