United Kingdom: Two new studies have suggested that ultra-processed foods (UPF) significantly raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Ultra-processed foods are products that have gone through multiple processes during manufacturing. They are often high in salt and sugar and may contain additives and preservatives.
The first study, which analysed 10,000 women for 15 years, found that those with the highest proportion of UPF in their diet were 39 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure than those with the lowest. This was the case even after academics adjusted for the effects of salt, sugar, and fat. High blood pressure, or hypertension, increases the risk of serious heart conditions, including heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, aortic aneurysms, kidney disease, and vascular dementia.
The second study, which tracked more than 325,000 men and women, found that those who ate the most UPF were 24 percent more likely to have cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes, and angina.
According to research led by the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China, increasing daily UPF consumption in calorie intake by 10 percent led to a 6 percent increased risk of heart disease. Furthermore, those with UPF making up less than 15 percent of their diet were least at risk of any heart problems.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Amsterdam, where thousands of the world’s leading heart doctors, scientists, and researchers were briefed on the studies.
One of the researchers behind the first study, Ms. Anushriya Pant of the University of Sydney, remarked that many people were unaware that foods they assumed were healthy, such as shop-bought sandwiches, wraps, soups, and low-fat yoghurts, were in fact UPF. “It could be that foods you think are healthy are actually contributing to your developing high blood pressure,” the researcher noted.
“Women typically eat more UPF than men,” Ms. Pant added. According to the authors, further research is needed to establish whether this is driven by the marketing of ultra-processed diets and low-fat foods to women.