Sugary drinks and processed meats are the only two ultra processed foods associated with a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, Harvard researchers have discovered.
The scientists used data collected from nurses and health professionals to test the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and strokes from eating a range of different ultra-processed foods.
But although they have long been vilified not all ultra-processed food (UPF) is made equal.
In fact, yoghurt, wholegrain bread and savoury snacks were shown to slightly reduce the risk of the diseases.
Sugary drinks and processed meats are the only two ultra processed foods associated with a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, Harvard researchers have discovered
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, splits food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has gone through. Unprocessed foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients — which are usually not eaten alone — include oils, butter, sugar and salt
UPFs make up 57 per cent of the average UK diet, the category includes fizzy drinks, crisps, bacon and breakfast cereal.
An easy sign a food could be a UPF is if it contains ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboard, such as unrecognisable colourings, sweeteners and preservatives.
Another clue is the amount of fat, salt and sugar lurking inside each pack, with UPFs typically containing high amounts.
But supermarket staples such as breakfast cereals and pre-packaged bread can be mass-produced and are also considered to be ultra-processed.
That’s because they often contain extra ingredients such as emulsifiers, artificial flavours and sweeteners, instead of just flour, salt, yeast and water.
However, the study published in the Lancet this week suggests we should ‘deconstruct’ the ultra-processed food classification as many of the UPFs have a ‘diverse nutritional composition’ and therefore have cardiovascular benefits.
UPF intake was assessed through food frequency questionnaires in three studies.
Researchers looked at data from The Nurses’ Health Study by the NHS of 75,735 female nurses aged 30 to 55 years, a second nurses health study of 90,813 women aged 25 to 42 years and health professionals follow-up study of 40,409 men aged 40 to 75 years.
Those who had prior cardiovascular disease, cancer or who had a high BMI were excluded from the study.
A selection of UPFs were divided into ten groups: bread and cereals; sauces, spreads, and condiments; packaged sweet snacks and desserts; packaged savoury snacks; sugar-sweetened beverages; processed red meat, poultry, and fish; ready-to-eat/heat mixed dishes; yoghurt/dairy-based desserts; hard liquors; artificially-sweetened beverages.
They found there was an associated risk of consuming a diet heavy in sugary and artificially sweetened drinks and cardiovascular disease risk.
This risk was also found in diets high in processed meats, such as sausages, bacon and hotdogs.
However, there were inverse associations observed for bread, breakfast cereal, yoghurt, dairy desserts and savoury snacks.
Processed meats and soft drinks should be particularly discouraged due to their consistent adverse association with cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke, study authors said.
Food experts say some UPFs can be ‘part of a healthy diet’. Baked beans, fish fingers and wholemeal bread all make the cut, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). Tomato-based pasta sauces, wholegrain breakfast cereals and fruit yoghurts are also ‘healthier processed foods’, the charity says
But they stress reducing the content of sodium, saturated fats, added sugars of some of these UPFs may enhance some of the ‘cardioprotective benefits’ of the vitamins, minerals and fibre found in some of these products.
They add that reducing the cosmetic additives non-essential for human health in whole-grain bread, could also boost it’s health benefits.
Yoghurt and dairy-based desserts were also found to only have a positive or neutral cardiovascular benefits, this is especially the case with fermented plain yoghurt.
Study authors noted this was despite the usually high saturated fat and added sugar content of the dairy products. They added that yoghurts that contain probiotic bacteria or odd-chain fatty acids may contribute to lower cardiovascular risk despite being a UPF.
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a food scientist and nutritionist based at the University of Reading, posted a graph from the study on X explaining that the data showed most UPF food groups ‘actually protect and reduce disease risk’.
‘The big problem is so many foods are classed as UPF,’ he told MailOnline.
‘Most studies show people who consume a lot of soft drinks, especially sugar and sweetened drinks, are more likely to be obese and suffer diabetes, as well as other diseases.
‘The data show a huge impact of sugar sweetened beverages and processed meat, while everything else is very neutral.’
For example, bread sold in supermarkets is often classed as a UPF but Professor Kuhnle explains it can still be healthy.
He said: ‘Wholegrain bread is probably a healthy form of bread, whether it is manufactured in a big factory or made at home, the difference between the two will be tiny.’
