You know a nutrition story is big when it catches the mainstream media’s attention.

Either that, or it’s a click-bait story.

In this case, the story is big.

The story first caught my attention this morning when it came up on a news alert from The Guardian.

So, I decided to look a little further.

Mainly because since having Little Miss A my own personal health is very much at the front of my priority list — if I’m strong, energetic, healthy … and migraine free, our little miss will be healthy, too (through the nourishing breastmilk she’s receiving).

This latest nutrition story relates to new peer-reviewed research released today (29 February 2024) by The BMJ that provides the strongest evidence to date that diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are linked to health issues such as cancer, heart and lung conditions, mental health disorders, and premature death.

In fact, the research shows that high exposure to UPFs is associated with a staggering 32 damaging health outcomes.

UPFs include food items you might find in a typical pantry. So, items like packaged baked goods and snacks, soft drinks, sugary cereals, and ready-to-eat, ready heat meals.

These products tend not only to be higher in added sugar, salt and fat (while being low in the good stuff – vitamins/minerals, fibre), the way they’re processed and the fact that they typically contain artificial colours, flavours and other additives, mean they fare poorly on the ol’ health rating scale.

The concern is that, as experts suggest, currently for many of us, more than half of our dietary energy comes from these types of food — UPFs. That means, we’re eating way too much when it comes to UPFs, and this is really concerning for our health.

Without going into the study details (you can view those here but the study is a big, peer-reviewed one), overall, the research, in which the findings are graded as convincing, highly suggestive, or limited, showed:

• “Convincing evidence that higher UPF intake was associated with approximately 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease related death, 48-53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental health disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes.”
• “Highly suggestive evidence that high UPF intake was associated a 21% greater risk of death from any cause, a 40-60% increased risk of heart disease related death, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and sleep problems, and 22% increased risk of depression.”

The researchers add: “Evidence for the associations of UPF exposure with asthma, gastrointestinal health issues, some cancers and cardiometabolic risk factors such as high blood fats and low levels of ‘good cholesterol’ remain limited.”

So, if there ever was a time to adhere to the ‘fresh is best’ mantra when it comes to food choices, it’s now.

As the researchers conclude: “These findings support urgent […] public health actions that seek to target and minimise UPF consumption for improved population health.”

The way I see it, one of the best and easiest ways to tackle this issue is through individual food choices — take personal responsibility here.

Choose fresh food and freshly prepared meals where possible — try to cook at home! — and limit UPFs as much as you can.

By instilling healthy habits, eating fresh, whole foods and avoiding UPFs, you’ll not only save some much-needed dollars at the supermarket checkout but your health — and in my case, my child’s health — along the way.

x G.

P.S For those interested in reading about the food tech business and how they make UPFs so appetising and addictive, read Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss. It’s definitely an eye opener.