Ready-made meals, frozen pizzas, soft drinks and even a loaf of bread from the supermarket can make you age faster, according to alarming new research.
Italian researchers have found that people who eat more ultra-processed foods (UPF) show more signs of biological aging.
Biological aging is a scientific term for how old your body’s cells and tissues appear depending on how well they function.
This may be different from your chronological age: the number of birthdays you have had.
In the new study, which examined the diet and biological age of just over 22,000 Italian adults, experts found that those who ate more UPFs biologically about four months older than their chronological age.
In contrast, those who ate the fewest UPFs turned out to be an average of two months younger than their biological age.
Although the difference is small, the findings add to growing concerns that high consumption of UPFs is linked to health problems including obesity, type 2 diabetes and even cancer and death.
The authors, from the Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, say their research has not shown exactly how UPFs can accelerate aging.
Ready-made meals, frozen pizzas, soft drinks and even the simple bread from the supermarket can make you age faster, according to alarming new research. (Stock Image)
In the new study, which examined the diet and biological age of just over 22,000 Italian adults, experts found that those who ate more UPFs were biologically about four months older than their actual chronological age.
But they added that after taking into account the participants’ overall diet, the aging could not be explained solely by the fat, sugar and salt content in UPF.
Instead, they suspected that another factor related to UPFs could explain the increasing aging population.
Simona Esposito, an expert in epidemiology and lead author of the study, explains: Our data shows that high consumption of UPFs not only has a negative impact on health in general, but can also accelerate aging itself, suggesting that there is a connection that goes beyond just the poor. nutritional quality of these foods.’
The authors suggested two possibilities that could explain how UPFs may be associated with biological aging.
The first is that UPFs tend to be higher in acrylamide, a neurotoxic chemical created when food is processed at high temperatures.
They cited research showing that high exposure to acrylamide has been linked to ‘increased oxidative stress and inflammation’ – both of which are believed to be precursors to some of Britain’s biggest killers.
The second is that UPFs are typically packaged in plastic.
This means that UPF eaters may be at risk of chemicals from the packaging leaching into the food and potentially consuming it.
Although many non-UPF foods are also packaged in plastic, the authors theorized that because UPFs typically have a longer shelf life, there is more time for chemicals to leach into the food.
Marialaura Bonaccio, nutritional epidemiologist and co-author of the study, said: ‘These products are often packaged in plastic packaging, making them carriers of substances that are toxic to the body.’
UPFs are a staple of the modern British diet and are an umbrella term covering a wide range of foods that are packed with artificial colours, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.
Another author of the study, Professor Licia Iacoviello, director of the epidemiology and prevention research unit at the Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, said their study added to calls for more to be done to warn consumers about UPFs.
“This study once again prompts us to re-evaluate current dietary recommendations, which should also include warnings about limiting the intake of ultra-processed foods in our daily diets,” she said.
The authors, who published their research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutritioncame to their conclusions after examining dietary data and biological markers of aging from 22,495 Italian adults.
Biological markers of aging include signs of inflammation in the body, as well as metabolism and organ function, all measured through blood tests. These data were used to calculate the biological age for each participant.
Researchers then compared this data to the amount of UPFs participants consumed according to questionnaires, and identified patterns.
The study had some limitations, which the authors acknowledged.
First, the study is observational, meaning the researchers cannot be certain that UPF consumption was the cause of the increased biological aging, rather than that some other factor was underlying it.
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The second was that participants’ dietary information was collected through a questionnaire, meaning people could be wrong when reporting how much UPF they consumed.
UPFs include a wide range of foods and drinks packed with artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives, as well as, typically, calories and sugar.
Examples include ready-made meals, ice cream and even ketchup.
They typically undergo multiple industrial processes that research has shown affect the physical structure of food, causing it to be quickly absorbed.
This, in turn, can increase the risk of spikes and spikes in blood sugar levels, reducing feelings of satiety.
It’s also said to harm the microbiome: the community of “friendly” bacteria that live within us and depend on for good health.
UPFs are thought to be a major cause of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year.
However, experts have repeatedly urged caution in linking UPF consumption to health problems.
Many consider the term UPF too broad because it considers a whole wheat bread, which has some health benefits, and a ready meal packed with salt, fat and sugar to be the same type of food under the classification system.
Some experts argue that this can make it unclear which UPFs may cause certain health problems.
Researchers have also emphasized that UPFs themselves may not directly cause health problems observed in studies.
Instead, they have suggested that eating a lot of UPFs could be a symptom of other problems, such as poverty, which could reduce people’s intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.