Taking advantage of the fact that these are days of gastronomic indulgence, in Sunday's dossier we want to focus on our general overconsumption of ultra-processed foods, a temptation that is easy to succumb to, but which has consequences. Scientific evidence links the consumption of these products to diseases with a higher risk of premature death. And in the last year, studies have increased, as have calls from scientists to put a stop to this. We'll look at what happens to our bodies when we eat, what the experts say, what alternatives exist, and what the differences are between prepared, processed, and ultra-processed foods.

Improving the diets of millions of Europeans would have an unprecedented impact on public health, since an unhealthy diet is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. That is why the European Union wants to regulate it. ultra-processed foodThat is, industrially produced foods that often contain very little raw material but many additives and added substances, in addition to sugars, fats, and salt, among others. Examples include dishes served by fast-food chains, sugary and energy drinks, pastries, potato chips, and chocolates.

Just a few days ago, the prosecutor of San Francisco, in the United States, made history: David Chiu publicly announced who would file a lawsuit against some of the world's leading food companies, such as Kraft, Heinz, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's, and Nestlé USA. He accused them of producing ultra-processed foods, "food that isn't really food," in the words of this lawyer, products "designed to be harmful and addictive." These multinationals market them, Chiu continued, with the goal of "maximizing their profits" despite knowing that "they make people sick." These products, which are exponentially gaining more and more space in shopping baskets around the world, are comparable to tobacco and opioids, the California prosecutor argued. The manufacturing companies, he pointed out, "hide the truth about the harm they cause from society in order to earn billions of dollars." And there is growing scientific evidence that Consuming these foods is detrimental to human health.It harms each and every organ in our body and is linked to the current epidemic of chronic diseases, such as obesity, overweight, and type 2 diabetes; also heart disease, cancer, and depression.

Aitor Sánchez García (Albacete, 1988) is a dietitian, nutritionist, and science communicator. Trained at the universities of Alicante and Granada, he combines academic research with extensive outreach through lectures, books, and, above all, social media, where he has amassed over 300,000 followers on Instagram. Online, he shares content about diets and nutrition, avoiding the magical and miraculous recipes of other profiles with dubious scientific basis, but instead offering a clear and concise message that provides practical solutions to everyday problems. Co-director of the Aleris Nutrition Center in Valencia, Sánchez García has just published his latest book, ¿What about nutrition? (Paidós), in which he sheds light on the avalanche of new trends, recommendations and opinions on food that, far from making life easier for the population, generate more and more confusion and misinformation.

The vast majority of the Barcelona metropolitan population (88.65%) lives in areas where the main food offering is ultra-processed products, with few fresh or healthy options. This is the warning from a study presented this Thursday by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) on food environments in the municipalities that make up Greater Barcelona. The report finds high territorial and social inequality in access to food.