Studies link ultra-processed food to aging, colon cancer and non-communicable diseases

Recent research warns over half of US adults’ calorie consumption comes from ultra-processed foods (UPF). Other new papers have linked UPF with accelerated biological aging next to increased colorectal cancer and non-communicable diseases.

UPF includes ice cream, chips, sausages, pre-packaged meals, breakfast cereals, mass-produced bread next to carbonated drinks, instant soups and energy drinks and bars.

Junk food and UPF

The study in the Journal of Nutrition says diets with high UPF with little or no nutritional value are known to cause chronic health conditions. 

“The perception can be that ‘junk food’ and UPF are equivalent. Yet UPF encompass many more products than just junk food or fast food, including most of the foods in the grocery store,” says lead author Dr. Julia Wolfson, MPP, associate professor, Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“The proliferation and ubiquity of UPF on grocery store shelves are changing what we eat when we make meals at home.”

Data analysis

Researchers analyzed data from the 2003–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 34,000 adults. However, they note the data is from pre-pandemic times and does not include its impact on consumption changes during this period. 

UPF from calories consumed at home rose from 51% in 2003 to 54% in 2018. This was slightly lower but not lower than 49% for Hispanics and higher-income households.

A third of all calories came from eating away from home, with UPF being easier to prepare and less expensive. For those with less than a high school degree, UPF consumption outside the home rose by 8%.

Compared to UPF, the calorie content of minimally processed foods dropped from 33.2% in 2003 to 28.5% in 2018, due to difficulties in finding scratch ingredients, like fresh vegetables and meat.

Wolfson suggests: “We need strategies to help people choose less processed foods and avoid unhealthy UPF for foods purchased for both at-home and away-from-home consumption. Additionally, strong nutrition labels warning of high ultra-processed food content may be warranted.”

UPF from calories consumed at home in the US rose from 51% in 2003 to 54% in 2018.Recently, the US FDA said it was stepping up efforts to address the obesity and diabetes crises in the US, focusing on front-of-package nutrition labeling, sodium reduction and updated “healthy” food claims. 

Faster biological clock

Another study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that poor nutritional composition of UPF negatively impacts biological aging. 

Using cross-sectional analysis, researchers based this finding on a large sample of 22,495 Italian adults. They assessed the food quality with the Mediterranean Diet Score.

According to the authors, biological aging refers to functional or physiological aging with adverse implications on mechanisms, such as inflammation, lipid and carbohydrate transport, metabolism and homeostasis.

With a rising interest in understanding aging, seeking longevity and healthy aging, the researchers note that the link between UPF and biological aging has been poorly explored. However, studies have shown an inverse relationship between high UPF, cognitive performance, cognitive decline and frailty.

They note that research has also linked proinflammatory diets of processed meat, added sugar and refined grains to accelerated biological aging. 

Chronic inflammation from diet 

Researchers from the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cancer Institute have linked the Western diet, which is “dominated” by UPF and unhealthy oils, to chronic inflammation that triggers colorectal tumor growth.

“It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies,” comments Dr. Timothy Yeatman, professor of surgery at the university’s Health Morsani College of Medicine and associate center director for Translational Research and Innovation at the TGH Cancer Institute. 

“We now see this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal — if your body is living off of daily UPF, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allows cancer to grow.”

Previous USF Health Heart Institute studies found an imbalanced diet also leads to Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

“Our bodies are designed to actively resolve inflammation through bioactive lipid compounds derived from the healthy fats, like avocados, that we consume,” says Ganesh Halade, associate professor in the USF Health Heart Institute in the Morsani College of Medicine and member of the Cancer Biology Program at TGH Cancer Institute. 

“Bioactive lipids are very small molecules derived from the foods that we eat, and if the molecules come from processed food products, they directly imbalance the immune system and drive chronic inflammation.”

Dr. Timothy Yeatman and Ganesh Halade (Image credit: Ryan Rossy).Examples of healthy and unprocessed food include crab, salmon, halibut, spinach, brussels sprouts, seaweed and algae.

Holistic and natural solution 

The paper in Gut showed lipids in 162 tumor samples from patients, which had excessive inflammation-promoting molecules and a shortage of those that help healing.

“A human’s immune system can be extremely powerful and drastically impact the tumor microenvironment, which is great if harnessed correctly for health and wellness,” says Yeatman. “But not if it’s suppressed by inflammatory lipids from processed foods.”

The researchers suggest resolution medicine, a new therapy that uses natural products instead of synthetic drugs, may help reverse inflammation and potentially reverse colorectal cancer. The medicine would include unprocessed foods rich with omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil derivatives to restore healing mechanism, along with balanced sleep and exercise. 

“This has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, moving beyond drugs to harness natural healing processes,” adds Yeatman. “It’s a vital step toward addressing chronic inflammation and preventing diseases before they start.”

Link to non-communicable diseases

A study in Frontiers in Nutrition looking at dietary patterns of 444 Lebanese adults over five months revealed UPF contributed to the development of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases.

Such diseases, including “cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, are on the rise globally and are nowadays the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, exceeding communicable diseases,” warn the authors.

“Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-communicable diseases lead to the death of 41 million people every year, which equates to seven out of ten deaths worldwide.”

The researchers underline that the Eastern Mediterranean Region has a lack of data on UPF consumption links to chronic diseases, “despite it being a region that is witnessing nutrition transition and increased prevalence of chronic diseases that account for over 80% of all deaths.”

UPF took the largest energy intake (46.7%), followed by minimally processed and unprocessed foods (39.6%). This rate was higher among those suffering from renal disease, younger adults and males.

The UPF diet had notable levels of sodium and thiamin and low proteins, fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. The researchers call for public health policy intervention for promoting less processed foods and decreasing UPF consumption, especially sweets and sweetened beverages.

The authors see UPF’s as “energy-dense, multi-ingredient, industrially formulated mixtures, with the majority being highly processed to be ready-to-eat with no preparation before consumption.”