A study published in the British Medical Journal finds people who consume high amounts of these foods have an increased risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, certain cancers including colorectal cancer and premature death.
The data come from more than 9 million people who participated in dozens of studies, which researchers analyzed as part of umbrella review.
Does the study take into account confounding variables like poverty?
With over 9 million people studied, probably.
Sample size doesn’t mean that confounding variables were calculated though? It def means it could be possible though.
It’s amazing what’s allowed to be sold as food here in the US, compared to Europe, and that their isn’t more regulatory restrictions on what these companies can and cannot put on their package labeling. The amount of packaged garbage that signifies healthy while containing high levels of processed shit is astounding, and it’s no wonder why obesity and medical problems are endemic.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have travelled to Europe several times, and the difference of food is night and day. I’ve actually lost weight while on vacation (though walking everywhere surely helped).
I wonder what the link would be between highly-processed foods and mental illnesses like anxiety and depression
Not a doctor or scientist, but my guess is that the lack of nutrients messes with your gut biome which is directly related to anxiety and depression. The gut biome is going to be something that future us will think we’re crazy for not looking into more. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7510518/
For those who need it simplified. It’s long been theorized that our gut is essentially a “second brain”. It’s that important.
Craving for foods that fake your senses, sounds very much like drug abuse. As growing older I have been striving to avoid potato chips and go for fruits. Apples are sweet and crunchy. Clementine hydrates a lot. Banana provides potassium to avoid cramps, and so on. No junk food provides any of these… Yet, they entice us…
That makes sense. We’re eating delicious foods. Our bodies are wired to make healthy things delicious. But we’re not getting any nutrients despite satisfying our cravings and eating delicious food. It makes sense that it’d mess something up.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“Taking the body of literature as a whole, there was consistent evidence that regularly eating higher – compared to lower – amounts of ultra-processed foods was linked to these adverse health outcomes,” says study author Melissa Lane, of Deakin University in Australia.
One telltale sign that a food is ultra-processed is if its ingredient label includes substances you would not find in your own kitchen such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, hydrolysed protein, or additives such as artificial colors, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents and thickeners.
The observational studies included in this new review do not prove that consumption of ultra-processed foods can cause anxiety, cancer or other health conditions.
But at a time when diet is a leading cause of chronic disease, it adds to a growing body of evidence that ultra-processed foods contribute to the development of these conditions.
When it comes to mood and mental health conditions, there is evidence to show that adults who maintain a healthy diet have fewer depressive symptoms.
A panel of advisors is currently evaluating all the latest diet and nutrition studies as part of a process to update the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines.
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