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Ultra-processed food linked to harm in every major human organ, study finds (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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World’s largest scientific review warns consumption of UPFs poses seismic threat to global health and wellbeing

Ultra-processed food (UPF) is linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body and poses a seismic threat to global health, according to the world’s largest review.

UPF is also rapidly displacing fresh food in the diets of children and adults on every continent, and is associated with an increased risk of a dozen health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression.

The sharp rise in UPF intake worldwide is being spurred by profit-driven corporations using a range of aggressive tactics to drive consumption, skewer scientific debate and prevent regulation, the review of evidence suggests.

The findings, from a series of three papers published in the Lancet, come as millions of people increasingly consume UPF such as ready meals, cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks and fast food.

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[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Looked over the three articles. The main takeaway is not so much that the ultra-processed foods are fucking up your organs, it's that it's displacing real foods you need for nutrients. Heck, historically subjugated people who were forced to only eat starches like potatoes or rice had better survival since at least those had some nutrients, although still bad.

I didn't read deeply enough to know if they controlled for obvious covariates, like air and water pollution, but even if they did you can imagine that also independently shortens lifespans, too. Suffice to say, public assistance food programs and environmental protections are essential to quality of life and survival.

[–] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It also seems impossible to judge the merits of a food based solely on how processed it is. If you have bad cholesterol and low fiber for example eggs (completely unprocessed) are probably way worse for you than Hummus (processed to ultra processed depending on brand). The clingyness to the term Ultra Processed Foods has already made me skeptical about who's using it and how.

[–] xep@discuss.online 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

There's no such thing as bad cholesterol. It's just cholesterol. Why would eggs be bad for you?

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Also I can't see any downside to eggs, so there is no scenario where eggs are worse then hummus

The fact people have twisted themselves in knots to justify eating ultra processed foods shows how insidious the problem is.

Eggs are nature's multivitamin

[–] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Reread that. Bad cholesterol in that sentence is not referring to the type of cholesterol its referring to the level of cholesterol in the person.

[–] Flickerby@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So the title of the article of the should be "replacement of healthy foods with highly processed foods linked to harm", not what it is? Because that is wildly different than what the title suggests. That's like "leafy greens linked to protein deficiency".

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

That's the jist I get. But research findings are hard to put into a headline anyway... just, my initial thought was like "does it fill you full of useless material like packing peanuts?" and really it's just like, no, just the usual message about eating whole wheat and veggies and such.

But that's just me reading the abstracts.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Ultra processed food is an annoying big tent label that lumps together a bunch of unrelated foods, some of which are way worse for your health than others!

[–] M137@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

"Accept all or reject and subscribe"

How about fuck you.