Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola June 24, 2024
PDF: https://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2024/June/PDF/plant-based-ultraprocessed-foods-pdf.pdf
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
· Plant-based ultraprocessed foods, including veggie
burgers and meatless nuggets, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
· Eating plant-based ultraprocessed foods was linked
with a 5% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a 12% higher risk of
cardiovascular disease mortality
· Vegans and vegetarians often consume more
ultraprocessed foods than meat eaters, especially “industrial plant-sourced
meat and dairy substitutes”
· The health risks of these unnatural foods come not
only from the highly processed ingredients they contain but also from the
additives and contaminants formed during processing
· Plant-based ultraprocessed foods are typically
loaded with seed oils high in the toxic omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid
The findings challenge the perception that meatless
convenience foods are good for you, instead highlighting the fact that
ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are a disaster for your health, whether they’re
plant-based or not.
Heavily Processed Plant-Based Foods Raise
Cardiovascular Disease Risk
The study, which involved researchers from the
University of São Paulo and Imperial College London, included data from 126,842
people who answered questions about their diets. Food groups were broken down
into plant-sourced or non-plant/animal-sourced, then further divided into
non-UPF or UPF as a percentage of total energy intake.
Hospital and mortality records were later linked to
the data to gather information about cardiovascular diseases. Eating
plant-sourced non-UPFs, such as fruits and vegetables, was beneficial. Every
10% increase in unprocessed plant-based foods was associated with a 7% lower
risk of cardiovascular disease and a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular disease
mortality.2
However, consuming plant-sourced ultraprocessed
foods was linked with a 5% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and a 12%
higher risk of cardiovascular disease
(CVD) mortality. “In addition, we found that replacing intake of
plant-sourced UPF with plant-sourced non-UPF was associated with a 7% and 15%
lower risk of CVD incidence and CVD-cause mortality, respectively,” the
researchers noted.3
“Eating plant-based products can be beneficial,
acting as protection against health problems, or it can represent a risk — it
all depends on the level of processing of these foods,” study author Renata
Levy, with the University of São Paulo, told CNN.4
Study author Eszter Vamos, from Imperial College
London, added, “While ultraprocessed foods are often marketed as healthy foods,
this large study shows that plant-based ultraprocessed foods do not seem to
have protective health effects and are linked to poor health outcomes.”5
Vegan Processed Foods Contribute to Cardiovascular
Risk Factors
While many studies have highlighted the health
risks of ultraprocessed foods, “this study provides evidence for the first time
that the impact of plant-sourced UPF on CVD should not be overlooked,” the
researchers explained.6 The findings are particularly important given
the rising trend of new plant-based ultraprocessed products flooding the
market.
Vegans and vegetarians may be especially affected,
as they consume more ultraprocessed foods than meat eaters, especially
“industrial plant-sourced meat and dairy substitutes.”7 Examples
of plant-based ultraprocessed foods include:
·
Veggie burgers
·
Vegan cheese and other animal-free
dairy products
·
Plant-based sausages
·
Vegetable chips
·
Plant-based milks
The health risks of these unnatural foods come not
only from the highly processed ingredients they contain but also from the
additives and contaminants formed during processing. According to the study:8
“Despite being plant-sourced, UPF-rich diets may
still pose health risks due to negative effects caused by their composition and
processing methods. High content of unhealthy fats, sodium, and added sugars in
UPF contribute to dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, insulin
resistance, obesity, and metabolic disorders, all CVD risk factors.
Notably, results of our sensitivity analyses that
further adjusted for these nutrients remained significant, suggesting other
non-nutritional factors may have contributed to the associations, consistent
with previous studies.
Certain food additives found in UPF, such as
monosodium glutamate and artificial sweeteners, as well as contaminants formed
during industrial processing, such as acrolein, have been associated with an
increased risk of CVD, possibly through oxidative stress, inflammation,
endothelial dysfunction, metabolic dysregulation, insulin resistance, and
alterations in gut microbiota composition.
Absence of an intact food matrix in plant-sourced
UPF may lead to lower levels of bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenol and
phytosterols), that are associated with CVD risk reduction. Additionally, plant
constituents such as fiber may beneficially affect the composition and function
of the large intestinal microbiome, and bacterial metabolites that may be
associated with CVD.”
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Industrial Seed Oils Are Common in Plant-Based
‘Meat’ Products
It’s not surprising that plant-based ultraprocessed
foods are linked to heart risks and other health problems, as they’re typically
loaded with seed oils, also known as vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean
oil, sunflower oil and canola oil. Vegetable and seed oils are high in the
omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid (LA).9 At
a molecular level, excess LA consumption damages your metabolism and impedes
your body’s ability to generate energy in your mitochondria, driving chronic
disease.
Another significant problem with polyunsaturated
fats (PUFAs) like LA is that they are chemically unstable, which makes them
highly susceptible to being damaged by oxygen species generated from the energy
production in your cells.
This damage causes them to form advanced
lipoxidation end-products (ALEs), which in turn generate dangerous free
radicals that damage your cell membranes, mitochondria, proteins and DNA. LA
also breaks down into harmful metabolites such as oxidized LA metabolites
(OXLAMs), which have a profoundly negative impact on your health. These ALEs
and OXLAMs then go on to cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which is a hallmark
of most all chronic disease.
The half-life of LA is around 600 to 680 days, or
approximately two years. This means it will take you about six years to replace
95% of the LA in your body with healthy fats. This is the primary reason for
keeping your LA intake low as possible. So, don’t fall for the narrative that
fake foods — like lab-made plant-based meat and burgers — are good for you.
Even though they’re being passed off as healthy, these products are heavily
processed and qualify as ultraprocessed.
Ultraprocessed Foods Are Driving Chronic Disease
Worldwide
Around the globe, ultraprocessed foods have
infiltrated the globe, bringing with them “rapid increases in prevalence of
overweight‐obesity and other nutrition‐related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs),
such as diabetes, hypertension, other aspects of coronary heart disease, and 13
of the 15 major cancers,” according to research published in Obesity Reviews.10 The
authors explain:11
“At present, all high‐income and many low‐ and
middle‐income countries are in a stage of the transition where
nutrition‐related noncommunicable diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes,
and hypertension are dominating adult morbidity and mortality and are very high
or growing rapidly in prevalence … All low‐ and middle‐income countries face
rapid growth in consumption of ultraprocessed food and beverages.”
Meanwhile, 61% of Americans’ food intake comes in
the form of highly processed foods and drinks. The amount is similar in Canada
(62%) and the U.K. (63%).12 “Ultraprocessed foods tend to be
energy-dense, low-cost, and nutrient-poor,” a study in Frontiers in Nutrition
reported.13
In the last decade, prices for unprocessed foods
increased at a greater rate than prices for ultraprocessed foods, leading
researchers to suggest, “Low energy cost could be one mechanism linking
ultraprocessed foods with negative health outcomes.”14 Their
analysis found ultraprocessed foods are primarily grains (91%), fats and sweets
(73%), dairy (71%) and beans, nuts and seeds (70%).
For comparison, “only 36% of meat, poultry and
fish, 26% of vegetables, and 20% of fruit” were classified as ultraprocessed.
Study Links Ultraprocessed Foods to 32 Negative
Health Effects
Adding even more reasons why ultraprocessed foods
don’t belong in your diet, a systematic umbrella review of existing
meta-analyses found direct associations between exposure to ultraprocessed
foods and 32 health parameters, ranging from mortality and cancer to mental,
respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic health outcomes.15
The strongest evidence showed that eating more
ultraprocessed foods was linked to higher risks of heart disease-related death,
Type 2 diabetes, anxiety and common mental disorders. There was also strong
evidence suggesting these foods increased the risk of death from any cause,
heart disease death, depression, sleep problems, wheezing and obesity.
The researchers again pointed to the “perfect
storm” of characteristics in ultraprocessed foods, which likely work
synergistically to harm human health:16
“The shift from unprocessed and minimally processed
foods to ultraprocessed foods and their subsequent increasing contribution to
global dietary patterns in recent years have been attributed to key drivers
including behavioral mechanisms, food environments, and commercial influences
on food choices.
These factors, combined with the specific features
of ultraprocessed foods, raise concerns about overall diet quality and the
health of populations more broadly.
For example, some characteristics of ultraprocessed
foods include alterations to food matrices and textures, potential contaminants
from packaging material and processing, and the presence of food additives and
other industrial ingredients, as well as nutrient poor profiles (for example,
higher energy, salt, sugar, and saturated fat, with lower levels of dietary
fiber, micronutrients, and vitamins).
Although mechanistic research is still in its
infancy, emerging evidence suggests that such properties may pose synergistic
or compounded consequences for chronic inflammatory diseases and may act
through known or plausible physiological mechanisms including changes to the gut
microbiome and increased inflammation.”
The researchers cited several ways that
ultraprocessed foods are harmful to human health:17
|
Intensive
processing leads to alterations in the food matrix, called dietary
reconstitutions, which may affect digestion, nutrient absorption and feelings
of satiety |
|
Additives
such as artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, colorants and nitrates/nitrites can
have detrimental health outcomes |
|
Additives
may have adverse effects on the gut microbiome and related inflammation |
|
Exposure
to the multiple additives in these foods “may have potential ‘cocktail
effects’ with greater implications for human health than exposure to a single
additive” |
|
Intensive
industrial processing may produce potentially harmful substances — including
acrolein, acrylamide, advanced glycation end products, furans, heterocyclic
amines, industrial trans-fatty acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon —
linked to chronic inflammatory diseases |
|
Harmful
contaminants, such as bisphenols, microplastics and phthalates often exist in
packaging materials and can migrate into the food |
Choose Whole Unprocessed Foods Over Ultraprocessed
Varieties
If the idea of cutting out ultraprocessed foods
feels overwhelming, try thinking of it as an opportunity rather than a
restriction. By eliminating these unhealthy foods, you're making room in your
diet for whole foods that provide the essential nutrients your body needs to
heal and stay healthy — without all the harmful additives and contaminants.
Instead of harming your health, each meal will contribute to your well-being.
It’s essential to look beyond the marketing of
heavily processed foods as healthy simply because they’re plant-based, meatless
or animal-free. The truth is, ultraprocessed foods pose significant health
risks, whether or not they contain plant-based ingredients.
The next time you're tempted by the convenience and
marketing of plant-based ultraprocessed foods, take a moment to consider their
impact on your health, and choose whole foods that nourish and sustain you
instead. Remember that true health comes from natural, nutrient-rich sources.
By making mindful choices, you can enjoy a balanced, healthy diet that supports
true long-term wellness.
Sources and References
·
1, 2 The Lancet Regional Health Europe June 10, 2024
·
3, 6, 7, 8 The Lancet Regional Health Europe June 10, 2024, Discussion
·
9 BMJ Open Heart,
2018; 5: e000898
·
10, 11 Obes Rev. 2022
Jan; 23(1): e13366
·
12, 13, 14 Front Nutr.
2019; 6: 70
·
16 BMJ. 2024; 384: e077310, Introduction
·
17 BMJ, 2024; 384: e077310, Discussion
