Beware of These 2 Common, Ultra-Processed Foods That May Raise Your Heart Disease Risk: Harvard Study

No sugar coating this news.

Consumption of sugary or artificially sweetened beverages and processed meat may increase the risk of heart disease, according to a Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health study published this week in The Lancet.

Researchers tracked the ultra-processed food intake of more than 200,000 health professionals and followed them for about three decades to see if they had heart disease or stroke.

UPFs—which represent 57% of the diet of US adults—typically contain excess calories, added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats.

The authors of the study divided the UPFs into 10 groups:

• Breads and cereals (with the subgroups of breakfast cereals, dark/cereal breads and refined grain breads)
• Sauces, spreads and condiments
• Sweet packaged snacks and desserts
• Delicious packaged snacks
• Sweet drinks with sugar
• Processed red meat, poultry and fish
• Ready-to-eat or reheat dishes
• Yoghurt/dairy based desserts
• strong drinks
• Artificially sweetened beverages

The three most popular types of UPFs among participants were breads and cereals, sweet snacks and desserts, and ready-to-eat foods.

The researchers determined that not all UPFs are bad—snacks, cold cereals, and yogurt/dairy-based desserts were associated with a lower risk of heart disease, and processed breads and cold cereals were linked with a lower risk of stroke.

Nutrition experts have long warned against sugary sodas and processed meats. Too much added sugar can lead to chronic inflammation in the heart and blood vessels and increase the risk of diabetes.

For their part, processed meats are preserved by salting, curing, smoking or by adding chemical preservatives. Salt can raise blood pressure while saturated fat can raise cholesterol.

There were several limitations to the Harvard study, including a lack of information about how the food was made. There were also very few non-white participants.

However, the researchers say their findings suggest that soft drinks and processed meats should be discouraged, and the nutritional quality of UPFs should be considered before consumption.

“Reducing the content of sodium, saturated fat, added sugars, and cosmetic additives not essential to human health in whole-grain breads, cold cereals, and some savory foods may increase the otherwise nutritional value of these products in the U.S., ” the authors of the study. has written