Ultra-processed foods increasingly ‘barred’ due to their possible damage to health. A study signed by IRCCS Neuromed of Pozzilli (Isernia) shows that, in people with cardiovascular disease, a diet rich in these foods can increase the risk of a second heart attack or stroke, this time deadly. Not only that: even those who follow the dictates of the Mediterranean diet, if they consume too many ultra-processed foods, are still in danger. The research is published in the ‘European Heart Journal’, the scientific journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
The authors followed for over 10 years 1,171 people participating in the ‘Moli-sani’ epidemiological project who already had cardiovascular disease at the time of inclusion in the study. Taking into consideration the type of diet followed by the participants, the researchers focused on the consumption of ultra-processed foods, those – they recall in a note – composed in part or entirely of substances that are not routinely used in cooking (hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrins , hydrogenated fats) and which generally contain various additives such as dyes, preservatives, antioxidants, anti-caking agents, flavor enhancers and sweeteners. This category includes sugary and carbonated drinks, prepackaged baked goods, spreads, but also apparently unsuspected foods such as rusks, some breakfast cereals, crackers and fruit yoghurt.. These foods are identified by the international Nova classification, which characterizes foods precisely on the basis of how much they have been subjected to industrial processes of extraction, purification or alteration.
“We have seen that people with a higher consumption of ultra-processed foods have a 2-thirds increased risk of having a second heart attack or stroke, this time fatal, compared to those who do not use them. – explains Marialaura Bonaccio, researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and Neuromed Prevention, first author of the study – The probability of dying from all causes is also 40% higher, “he warns.
“It is important to underline – Bonaccio points out – that lhe definition of ultra-processed is not linked to the nutritional content of these foods, but rather examines the procedure applied for its preparation and storage. In other words, even if a food is balanced from a nutritional point of view, it could still be considered ultra-processed “.
“Clearly it is not the individual foods consumed occasionally that make the difference – points out the author – but diets that as a whole leave too much space for products on the supermarket shelves. A diet based on the consumption of fresh, minimally processed products should be preferred, as the Mediterranean tradition has taught for centuries “, he recommends.
“This study reveals an important finding,” he comments Licia Iacoviello, director of the Department of Epidemiology and Neuromed Prevention: “It is time to overcome the distinction between healthy and unhealthy food based solely on the nutrients it contains. In other words, a person could follow a Mediterranean diet, perhaps rich in legumes or vegetables, “in short,” a healthy diet. But the simple definition of ‘Mediterranean’ does not tell us how those foods were prepared. Fresh vegetables are not the same as pre-cooked and seasoned vegetables, and the same goes for many other foods. It will be a factor to be kept more and more present in the indications to be given to citizens on proper nutrition. Our proposal – he concludes – is that the level of industrial processing to which a certain food has been subjected becomes an indication to be added to the normal label which until now has limited itself to providing nutritional information “.
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