As shocking as the result of this study may seem, we are already accustomed to the news. Just that now we have more solid proof to back up our concerns.
French researchers have unveiled, following a 10 years study, that ultra-processed foods increase your odds of dying prematurely.
According to this study published only recently in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the early death factor increases by 14% for every 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods consumed by a person.
That’s pretty alarming, don’t you think? If you look at the daily diet of Americans, 61% of it comes from super-processed foods, as this other study reveals.
Canadians eat even more unhealthy, with 62% of an adult’s total diet falling under this label, while the U.K. tops the list with a staggering 63% on average.
Processed foods are more convenient in this time-dependent society. To not sacrifice time and comfort, people are usually lured by these on-the-go foods that clearly shatter their life expectancy.
The main illnesses caused by these foods that lead to early death are coronary heart disease and cancer.
Considering that the “junk food” trend is on the rise in the U.S. and other developed nations across the globe, it’s easy to picture how much the general life expectancy of people will decrease in the future.
So how do I know exactly what these perilous foods are? What falls under this label?
“Ultra-processed foods are manufactured industrially from multiple ingredients that usually include additives used for technological and/or cosmetic purposes,” explains the study’s authors. “Ultra-processed foods are mostly consumed in the form of snacks, desserts or ready-to-eat or heat meals,” and they have been consumed at an alarming and ever-increasing pace in the last couple of decades.
In order to determine the link between these highly processed foods and the risk of an earlier-than-expected death, a total of 44,551 French adults (aged 45 and more) have taken part in the study.
73% of the people involved in the study were women. During a period of ten years, they have provided records of their daily diet every 6 months.
Additionally, they have submitted health questionnaires about their body-mass index, sport routine, socio-demographics, and more.
Outlining the 10-year outcome, researchers have discovered that ultra-processed foods represented over 14% of the total weight of food consumed, with 29% of it being calories.
Furthermore, the study concluded that highly processed foods are usually associated with younger age, lower wage, below the average education level, higher BMI, loneliness or living alone, as well as precarious physical activity.
From the total of 44,551 study participants, 602 of them died prematurely.
Of course, there are other accelerating factors like smoking and/or consuming alcohol in high amounts.
After ruling out these other threats, researchers concluded that the risk of an early death increases
by 14% for every 10% increase in highly processed foods intake.
Let’s say your child has been eating relatively heathy by now, and he has to move someplace else to study. There the child neglects his diet and starts consuming 30% more ultra-processed foods than usual. That’s a 42% risk of suffering an early death.
Add to this an inactive lifestyle, tobacco, alcohol and consumption of other drugs, and there won’t be many people reaching the retirement age.
Additives found in these foods are proven to deter health and brain function.
Since you absorb these dangerous chemicals in tiny amounts, their effect is not visible right away, reason why such lengthy studies are vital.
With the overwhelming trend of consuming on-the-go foods just to save a bit of time or for pure commodity, there’s no saying when or if most humans will understand the importance of a healthy diet.
As conscious preppers, it falls on our shoulders to teach the younger generation why it’s essential to make your own food and cut the ultra-processed types out of the menu.