There is a relationship between premature organic aging and the consumption of ultra-processed foods, those industrial products with a long list of ingredients, attractive and colorful, frozen or not, sweet or savory and increasingly used by those who do not want to, and often not he has time to devote himself to preparing meals. According to a study presented at the European and International Congress on Obesity, underway from 1 to 4 September online due to Covid and published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Those who consume more than 3 servings a day of super-processed food rich in sugar, salt, saturated fats, additives, dyes, preservatives, etc., are twice as likely to have shorter telomeres. As if to say that an excessively industrialized diet could age our cells faster. And ultimately ourselves.
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In fact, telomeres are structures made up of DNA and proteins located at the ends of chromosomes as if they were “protective helmets”. They do not contain genetic information, that is, they are not coding, but they are nevertheless vital, because they preserve the stability and integrity of the chromosomes. And because every time a cell divides, a small fraction of these protective caps are lost, as our cells age, the telomeres get shorter. For this reason, their length is considered a marker of biological age. But now let’s go back to the study.
Four groups
Spanish researchers from the University of Navarra, Pamplona and Madrid analyzed data from 645 men and 241 women – mean age 67.7 years – who provided both saliva samples for DNA analysis and accurate records of what and how much food industrial hired on a daily basis.
On the basis of the consumption of ultra-processed foods (Upf), the authors divided them into four 4 groups: the group with low consumption of ultra-processed food (less than 2 servings per day), the one with medium consumption – low (2 to 2.5 portions per day), the medium-high consumption group (more than 2.5 to 3 portions per day) and finally the high consumption group (more than 3 daily portions).
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More Upf less Mediterranean diet
The results? The likelihood of a family history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and excess fat in the blood was higher in the high-consumption group. Those in this group were more in the habit of snacking between meals than others, consumed more fat (saturated and polyunsaturated), sodium, cholesterol, fast food and processed meats, and ate fewer carbohydrates, proteins, fibers. , olive oil, fruits, vegetables and other micronutrients. Finally, those who consumed the most ultra-processed products also had a reduced probability of adhering to the Mediterranean diet, which – as everyone has known for some time – is associated with a better general state of health and a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases in particular. .
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Telomere analysis
And we come to the telomeres, specialized structures that are located at the ends of the chromosomes and which represent a protection for the chromosome itself. With aging, the length of telomeres decreases. Analyzing the chromosomes, the authors observed that the risk of having shorter telomeres increased significantly with the consumption of highly industrialized food. More in detail: passing from low to medium-low consumption of UPF, the increase in this risk was 29%. It was 40% and 82% respectively passing from low-medium to high-medium consumption, and from medium-high consumption to high consumption. Taking Upf was also associated with an increased likelihood of depression, especially in patients with low levels of physical activity, hypertension, overweight or obesity, and all-cause mortality.e. “With this cross-sectional study conducted on Spanish elderly we have shown that there is a strong association between the consumption of ultra-processed food and telomere length”, said the authors, but “to confirm these observations – they added – they are necessary. further investigations and more extensive longitudinal studies with basic and repeated measurements of telomere length “.
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Ultra processed food
Upf (sweets, drinks, snacks, reconstituted meat main courses, ready-made pre-cooked frozen meals, and much more) are not modified foods but industrial formulas consisting largely – or even entirely – of substances derivatives from foods and additives (flavors, dyes, emulsifiers and others and more). Unlike fresh and quality food, highly processed products – whose consumption is increasing around the world while that of fresh foods is decreasing – are ready for consumption, have long expiration dates, sweet or salty which are generally very tasty, which also favors the repurchase. In short, we are talking about convenient products: certainly convenient for those who produce them, and this is obvious. But also for those who buy them: although anything but in terms of health. Several studies published before this one we are talking about have already associated the consumption of UPF with important chronic diseases: hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome, depression, type 2 diabetes and different types of cancer.
