In the U.S., one person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For 100 years, heart disease has been the leading cause of death among Americans, with stroke in fifth place, per the American Heart Association (AHA). Smoking, excessive drinking, and stress are known to contribute to heart disease. However, an unhealthy diet is a major risk factor, particularly one riddled with ultra-processed foods (UPF). And now, a new study published in The Lancet has just dubbed artificially sweetened drinks and processed meats the two most dangerous UPFs.
RELATED: Cardiac Surgeon Shares 4 Foods He Avoids for Heart Health in New Video.
For many of us, our first introduction to UPF was sugary breakfast cereal, deli meat, or ready-to-eat frozen meals (dino chicken nuggets, anyone?). But as we continue to learn more about what types of foods do and don’t serve us, our diets change as adults. Hopefully, that means eliminating some UPFs from your grocery list.
As with any food group, there is a hierarchy in the UPF pyramid. For the study, researchers split the most common UPF (these typically contain excess calories, added sugars, high amounts of sodium, unhealthy fats, and low nutritional value) into 10 groups. These are:
- Bread and cereals
- Sauces, spreads, and condiments
- Packaged sweet snacks and desserts
- Packaged savory snacks
- Sugar-sweetened beverages
- Processed red meat, poultry, and fish
- Ready-to-eat meals
- Yogurt/dairy-based desserts
- Hard liquors
- Artificially-sweetened beverages
To determine which of these UPFs put people most at risk for developing heart disease, researchers analyzed the UPF intake of 206,957 participants. The cohort was made up of 166,548 women who were 25 or older and 40,409 men aged 40 or older. Their diets were assessed every two to four years over the course of 30 years.
Interestingly enough, the most popular types of UPF among the participants weren’t considered the most dangerous in the end. Breads and cereals, packaged sweet snacks and desserts, and ready-to-eat meals were what participants ate most of.
RELATED: Low-Calorie Sweeteners Can Hurt Your Heart, New Research Shows—Here’s What to Use Instead.
However, researchers found artificially sweetened drinks and processed meats to be the most troubling due to their astounding levels of added sugar and sodium.
Consuming too much sugar can lead to diabetes, inflammation, liver disease, obesity, and plaque build-up in blood vessels, which can trigger a heart attack or stroke, explains Loyola Medicine. Meanwhile, consuming too much salt can lead to kidney disease, high blood pressure, water retention and inflammation, and life-threatening heart conditions, says the Cleveland Clinic.
“Specifically, our findings suggest soft drinks and processed meats should be discouraged, given their consistent adverse association with [cardiovascular disease], [chronic heart disease], and stroke. Reducing the content of sodium, saturated fats, added sugars, and cosmetic additives non-essential for human health in whole-grain bread, cold cereals, and some savory snacks may enhance the otherwise nutritional value of these products in the US,” the study authors concluded.
