An investigation by one of Brazil’s leading health research institutes has linked high intakes of ultra processed foods to greater rates of premature death.
For some countries like the US and United Kingdom, as many as 1 in 7 deaths could be attributed to ultraprocessed food consumption.
The study led by researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, based in Rio de Janeiro, analyzed data from eight countries, including nationally representative dietary surveys and mortality data.
It is more than that. In previous studies from the authors they have controlled for the nutritional content and the processing and found that the content itself, so carbs fats etc, have a certain amount of causal influence on health, but the processing also has a separate and significant effect. Just having less processing seems to have a meaningful effect. This means less of the additives like milk powder, xanthan gum, sweeteners, flavourings, extracts, and so on. The exact mechanism seems to vary depending on the specific case, but separating components of food and then remixing them as well as adding non food components and processing with heat and pressure seems to make these things no longer digestible and safe.