Mixed
Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a significantly increased risk of overall cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease.
To lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, try to keep ultra-processed foods to less than 10-15% of your total food weight. Focus on unprocessed or minimally processed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fresh meats. The risk increases by about 12% for every 10% increase in ultra-processed foods in your diet, even if you try to balance the nutrients.
In this large observational prospective study, higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with higher risks of cardiovascular, coronary heart, and cerebrovascular diseases.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=105,159), long follow-up (median 5.2 years), rigorous adjustment for confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Ultra-processed food intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: prospective cohort study (NutriNet-Santé)
Bernard Srour et al. · BMJ · 2019
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