A report has revealed that three types of food could slash your life expectancy by a staggering 10%. The study indicates that those indulging in high amounts of ultra-processed foods could face a shorter lifespan compared to individuals who consume them minimally.
Topping the list of life-shortening foods are soft drinks, both diet and regular, followed closely by bakery items such as bread and cakes, and not forgetting processed meats. These findings were highlighted by Erikka Loftfield, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
Loftfield warned: “Diet soft drinks were the key contributor to ultra-processed food consumption. The second one was sugary soft drinks. Beverages are a very important component of the diet and the contribution to ultra-processed food.”
Bread and cakes that have undergone heavy processing ranked highly in the diets of those with reduced lifespans. Carlos Monteiro, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo, backed up these claims in a statement to KSL, saying, “This is one more large, long-duration cohort study confirming the association between UPF (ultra-processed food) intake and all-cause mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.”
Ultra-processed foods are defined as products containing substances typically absent from domestic kitchens but commonly used in industrial food manufacturing, such as preservatives, thickeners, artificial flavours, colourings, sweeteners, bulking agents, bleaches, and industrially altered fats and sugars, reports Wales Online.
The study, unveiled at a gathering of the American Society for Nutrition in Chicago, scrutinised dietary data from nearly 541,000 Americans aged between 50 and 71. It juxtaposed diets with mortality rates over two to three decades.
Those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods were 10% more likely to succumb to heart disease or diabetes than those who ate the least. Loftfield stated: “Highly processed meat and soft drinks were a couple of the subgroups of ultra-processed food most strongly associated with mortality risk.”
Diet beverages are laden with artificial sweeteners, while sugary drinks have been connected to a 63% heightened risk of premature death in women.
Processed meats have been associated with bowel and stomach cancers, heart disease, diabetes and early death. Loftfield advised: “We should really be focusing on eating diets that are rich in whole foods. And if the food is ultra-processed, then look to see the levels of sodium and added sugars and try to make the best decision possible using the nutrition facts label.”