Ultra-processed foods, as addictive as they are dangerous: "They make people sick"

Dossier The temptation that makes us sick 5 articles

• Ultra-processed foods, as addictive as they are dangerous: "They make people sick"
• "We need to legislate so that everyone can access fresh produce."
• Is it time to tax ultra-processed foods in Europe?
• "When a child eats a croissant or a chocolate bar, they stop eating fruit or fresh food."
• What makes you fat often also kills you

  

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.

That is why the San Francisco prosecutor's announcement has been seen as a victory among most public health experts in the West and has reinforced the conclusions ofa series of scientific articles recently published in the British medical journal The Lancet, The articles, written by nearly fifty leading researchers worldwide, warned that ultra-processed foods "are a global threat."

"These are foods that are designed and manufactured to be very tasty and appealing and to have a very long shelf life," one of the co-authors of the scientific articles explained to ARA. The Lancet and a renowned voice in the field of nutrition internationally, Maira Bes-Rastrollo, from the Empordà region, professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Navarra and researcher at the Navarra Institute for Health Research. The consumption of these products, however, increases the risk of premature mortalityTherefore, it is necessary to "take urgent measures to discourage their consumption and, in turn, promote the consumption of fresh and minimally processed foods."

One third of daily calories

Although there is no data on how many ultra-processed foods we consume in Catalonia, It is estimated that in Europe and the United States they represent between 25% and 60% of the energy contribution of the dietA scientific study, published in 2017 as well to The Lancet, A study examined shopping baskets in Spain and concluded that in 2010 these foods accounted for 32% of daily energy intake and 80% of all added sugars consumed. Worryingly, it is estimated that consumption is increasing exponentially worldwide, including in Spain. And, in the case of young people and those with fewer resources, these foods can make up as much as 80% of their diet.

We're talking about sugary and energy drinks, pastries, industrial sliced bread, cookies and sugary breakfast cereals, potato chips and similar snacks, flavored yogurts, junk food, and snacksProcessed meats, industrial dairy desserts, and ready-made meals, among others, all have very intense flavors, attractive packaging, are quick and easy to consume, last a long time in the pantry without spoiling, and are usually promoted by very powerful advertising campaigns, especially aimed at children and teenagers.

But what exactly are they?

Ultra-processed foods are products manufactured by the food industry, often with very little raw material, containing four or more ingredients that we would never or very rarely find in a kitchen, such as chemical additives and added substances, in addition to sugars, starches, salts, saturated fats, and others to make them hyper-processed.

"They are mass-produced foods with many ingredients and industrially processed, rich in saturated fats, salt, and sugar, three elements known to be harmful to health," notes Camille Lassale, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

Although the term ultra-processed While it appeared in scientific literature in the 1980s, it wasn't until 2009 that it began to be used systematically, thanks to a team of researchers from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, led by Carlos Monteiro. While studying the obesity epidemic in their country, they established a classification of foods based on their degree of processing. This classification, called NEW, distinguishes four main categories, from fresh products to ultra-processed foods.

However, it is not without controversy within the scientific community itself. The main complaint is that the umbrella term "ultra-processed foods" includes very different products, from infant formula to whole-grain breads with cereals or frozen ready meals, all with very different nutritional profiles. Lassale argues that this classification was also created with a political objective: "To be able to influence the agri-food system." "It is true that when we talk about ultra-processed foods there is a very wide variety of profiles, but, in any case, their consumption is associated with a higher intake of saturated fats, salt, and sugar," concludes this researcher.

The 'bliss point' or why they are addictive

These three ingredients—salt, sugar, and saturated fats—abundant in ultra-processed foods, largely explain why these products have such a harmful impact on health: they are linked to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and premature death from any cause.

"Ultra-processed foods are studied and designed to contain the ideal concentration of salt, sugar, and fats to produce addiction," notes Bes-Rastrollo, who adds that "this is what is known in English as Bliss Point"The 'happiness point'." When we consume these ingredients, the brain reacts by rewarding us with a feeling of pleasure. "Neurotransmitters are released that make us feel they are delicious and that we need more," Lassale points out. Literally true.

Furthermore, the manufacturing process of ultra-processed foods makes them softer and easier to digest, which tricks our natural satiety signals and causes us to eat more than we need. Added to this is the fact that they are more calorie-dense than fresh products and cause spikes in blood glucose. As if that weren't enough, Bes-Rastrollo reminds us, "they displace the intake of healthy fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and this ultimately leads to us consuming less fiber and beneficial, protective phytochemicals."

We must also consider the effect of the chemical additives they contain, which seriously harm our health because they act as endocrine disruptors that interfere with the immune and metabolic systems, even affecting fertility. The same is true for some chemical substances released from the containers that hold these products, generally made from plastics, which can pass into food.

"They affect the gut microbiota and can produce long-term inflammation, which is a significant risk factor for developing chronic diseases," notes Bes-Rastrollo. The effect is even worse in products that are heated in the same packaging, such as some instant rice or noodles, since even more potentially dangerous chemicals pass into the food. "Ultimately, it's a cocktail of additives that can be harmful to health, especially when consumed together over a long period," concludes this Catalan researcher.

However, not all ultra-processed foods are equally bad. Some should be avoided altogether, such as ultra-processed meats, like sausages or cold cuts, classified by the WHO as carcinogenic in the same category as tobacco and asbestos, and linked to colorectal cancer, or sugary drinks, which provide no nutritional value. In contrast, others such as some yogurts, pasta sauces or ready-made meals have certain levels of added fats and sugars and, on the contrary, contain beneficial nutrients. There are even manufacturing processes that can be beneficial, such as enriching bread with folic acid or some plant-based drinks with vitamin D.

What scientific evidence exists?

Most studies that conclude that ultra-processed foods are associated with health problems are observational, meaning that scientists recruit healthy individuals and analyze their lifestyles, paying particular attention to diet, to establish associations. They follow thousands of people for many years. "It wouldn't be ethical to conduct interventional studies with people, such as deliberately feeding them foods we know are harmful so that they end up getting sick," Bes-Rastrollo points out.

In this regard, a study published in 2023 that followed 10,000 Australian women for fifteen years concluded that those who ate more ultra-processed foods were 39% more likely to develop hypertension compared to those who ate less.

Another analysis from the same year, reviewing a dozen studies with more than 325,000 men and women, showed that higher consumption of these products was linked to more serious cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks, strokes, and angina.. In 2019A study by a team from the University of Navarra – where Bes-Rastrollo was – and Harvard University with nearly 20,000 university students in Spain suggested that those who ate more than four portions of ultra-processed foods a day were 62% more likely to have died within a decade from two fears related to consumption.

Furthermore, a 2024 review of 45 previous studies with nearly 10 million participants found strong evidence that a diet high in ultra-processed foods increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 50%; anxiety by 48%; obesity by 55%; sleep disorders by 41%; and depression by 20%, among other risks. And in the British Medical Journal, A 2022 study linked the consumption of these foods to a 29% higher risk of developing colon cancer.

The study recently published in The Lancet It was the largest review to date of all existing scientific literature on the link between health and ultra-processed foods. In total, they reviewed 104 long-term observational studies. "The evidence is compelling: consumption of these products is linked to a higher risk of developing chronic disease, as well as premature death from all causes," summarizes Bes-Rastrollo, co-author of this report.

The intake of these products is especially harmful during childhood, as demonstrated a study led by ISGlobal, in which Camille Lassale participatedwhich showed that it produced epigenetic changes that predisposed children to adult obesity. They found that these products affected genes involved in the regulation of thyroid hormones—essential for metabolism and energy regulation—and in liver function, crucial for the detoxification of chemicals.

So, if we know they're bad for our health, why do we consume more and more of them? Bes-Rastrollo has a clear answer: because they're convenient, easily accessible, and make our fast-paced lives easier. They're also cheaper than fresh produce. Add to that aggressive marketing and the fact that we have less and less culinary knowledge and skills.

"This shift in people's eating habits is fueled by very powerful global corporations that reap huge profits by prioritizing ultra-processed foods, with the support of political lobbying and extensive marketing, and that manage to block public health policies that would be effective in promoting healthy eating," the scientists warned. The Lancet"Last year alone, Coca-Cola and Pepsi spent four times the WHO's operating budget on advertising," adds Bes-Rastrollo. Therefore, and returning to the Chiu ad with which we began this article, in an email to fellow researchers, Carlos Monteiro, emeritus professor of nutrition and public health at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and a key figure in this field, stated: "deliberate to provoke excessive consumption in the population, ignoring the damage to global human health that they cause." Furthermore, he welcomed the Chiu ad, which he considered a victory. As happened with tobacco, this could be a first step in changing the narrative and moving from individual responsibility to corporate responsibility.

Dossier The temptation that makes us sick 5 articles

• Ultra-processed foods, as addictive as they are dangerous: "They make people sick"
• "We need to legislate so that everyone can access fresh produce."
• Is it time to tax ultra-processed foods in Europe?
• "When a child eats a croissant or a chocolate bar, they stop eating fruit or fresh food."
• What makes you fat often also kills you