Ultra-processed foods significantly increase a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke
Consuming ultra-processed foods significantly increases a person’s risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to new data published in JACC: Advances.[1] In fact, study participants who ate high amounts of ultra-processed foods were 66.8% more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke or cardiac arrest.
The study’s authors explored data from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, focusing on 6,814 U.S. adults between the ages 45-84 with no previous history of confirmed cardiovascular disease. All participants completed a 120-item questionnaire about their eating habits.
Overall, each additional daily serving of ultra-processed foods a person eats were associated with a sharp increase in their long-term risk of ASCVD events. The trend was especially severe among Black individuals, highlighting a disparity all cardiologists should be aware of going forward.
The authors emphasized that this association between ultra-processed foods and ASCVD risk was consistently seen in all groups of patients.
“We controlled for a lot of factors in this study,” lead author Amier Haidar, MD, a researcher with the division of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. “Regardless of the amount of calories you consumed per day, regardless of the overall quality of your diet, and after controlling for common risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, the risk associated with higher ultra-processed food intake was still about the same.”
Click here to read the full study in JACC: Advances, an American College of Cardiology journal. These findings are also scheduled to be presented as part of ACC.26 in New Orleans.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.