Study: Aging accelerated by ultra-processed foods

Study: Aging accelerated by ultra-processed foods


Nutritionally poor ultra-processed foods like hot dogs, chips, ready-to-heat pizza and pasta meals, and other tasty treats contain little in the way of whole foods. And they’ve long been known to be unhealthy.

One way that these ultra-processed foods, called UPFs, might harm health is by accelerating our biological aging process. That is the conclusion of a study out by scientists in Spain.

The research focused on telomeres [TEE-lo-meres]. These are the caps on our chromosomes. Telomeres protect the ends of these long DNA molecules from fraying, much like the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces. When the ends of the chromosomes wear away, genetic material might not get copied properly during cell replication. This, in essence, ages those cells.

The researchers conducted a study involving nearly 900 participants with an average age of 67. They were quizzed about their eating habits and underwent a DNA analysis.

The results were striking. Those volunteers who ate more than three servings of ultra-processed foods daily were 82% more likely to have shortened telomeres, indicating accelerated biological aging.

Even those eating lesser amounts of UPFs took a hit. Those eating two to two-and-a-half serving were 29% more likely to see shorter telomeres.

Those people who ate the most UPFs were more likely to have diabetes, snacked between meals more frequently and consumed fewer fruits, vegetables and foods with fiber. And they also suffered more depression.

This is more evidence that eating a healthy and balanced diet is a key to successful aging. So, put aside the chips and pick up an apple. Your telomeres will be happy for it.

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