Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Ultraprocessed foods are easy, cheap and
could be killing you
To avoid health risks, choosing foods by
ingredients isn’t enough. You also need to pay attention to how the food is prepared,
according to new studies. The more processed the food is, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease seems to be.
Fruits, milk, eggs, meats, seafood, yogurt,
grains are considered unprocessed or minimally processed foods, and they are
thought to be harmless. But while cheese, bread, wine, and traditional ham are processed
foods, sausages, mayonnaise, chips, pizza, cookies, chocolates, artificially sweetened
drinks are classified as ultra-processed foods. These heavily processed foods
are found to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and early death
because they are rich in unhealthy fat, too much sugar, and salt, but poor in
healthy nutrients. Another problem is that these industrial foods are not only more
profitable for the producers and sellers but also convenient and palatable for
consumers. So, even if the physical and chemical characteristics of these foods are
clarified and known to people, they may not be avoided so easily. Also, in
developing countries, as more convenience stores and supermarkets appear, more
packaged foods will be found on the shelves and in the freezers.
Environmentally, these industrial foods are packed
in single-use plastic materials.
Enjoy reading the article and think about what you should be having for lunch
or dinner today.
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