Processed food addicts, beware: Processed foods, such as cakes, bacon and chips, can considerably raise your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study by researchers from Paris.

Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, it suggested a strong association between the consumption of processed foods and an increased risk of developing diabetes, a chronic condition marked by high blood sugar levels.

Diabetes can lead to a slew of serious health problems, including heart disease and blindness. If you want to avoid these health problems, do what’s best for your health and ditch the processed junk.

Processed foods linked to diabetes

Processed foods are some of the unhealthiest foods on the planet largely because they can lead to weight gain fast. Your weight is a risk factor for diabetes and other serious diseases.

For the study, the researchers followed more than 100,000 participants without diabetes for six years, tracking their dietary intake with 24-hour records designed to register intake of over 3,500 different foods. The foods were categorized based on their degree of processing.

Foods that were considered to be ultra-processed include sausages, hamburgers, ice cream, bacon, chips, fish sticks and all alcoholic spirits. Some of these foods, like the spirits, contain no additives, while others, like sausages and hamburgers, contain a few additives. Other foods, like chips and cake mixes, are full of additives.

During the study period, 821 participants were diagnosed with diabetes. Overall, about 17 percent of the participants’ diets consisted of ultra-processed foods. For every 10 percent of the diet made up of such foods, the risk of diabetes went up by 15 percent.

The study also revealed that those who ate more ultra-processed foods consumed more calories in general. They also had lower-quality diets and were more likely to be obese and sedentary.

And though the study wasn’t designed to determine whether or how ultra-processed foods cause diabetes, it showed a compelling link between diabetes risk and ultra-processed food consumption.

Other health problems linked to processed foods

Cutting down on your intake of highly processed foods or avoiding them completely is an integral part of current dietary guidelines. Highly processed foods are typically loaded with added sugar, saturated fat and salt. These components do very little for your health and nutrition.

Eating highly processed foods opens you up to a long list of health problems that can seriously impact your quality of life. These health problems include:

1. Obesity

Sugar isn’t inherently bad, especially when you get it from naturally sweet foods like fruits as part of a balanced diet. The problem begins when you eat sweets and snacks that are filled with added sugar, which can lead to weight gain fast. And it’s not the good kind of weight gain because most of it will end up in your gut or belly.

Added sugar has no nutritional value. And don’t be fooled. Manufacturers have about 50 different words they use to avoid using “sugar” on their labels. These include corn syrup, fructose and malt.

2. Metabolic syndrome

Even if you avoid developing diabetes after years of eating processed foods, you still won’t be off the hook. Your quality of life can still be affected by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

If you have all three health issues, chances are you have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome isn’t really a disease but a one-way ticket to heart disease, diabetes or both.

3. Inflammatory bowel disease

Your gut houses trillions of bacteria that ensure your digestive system is running smoothly. However, diets rich in processed foods can throw your digestive system into disarray and worsen gut problems like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The culprit behind all this is usually a type of chemical preservative called emulsifiers.

4. Weakened immune system

Experts say 70 percent of the immune system is “located” in the gut. So if you often eat processed foods, it’s not just your gut bacteria that take a hit. Your immune system is heavily affected, too.

If you have a weakened or a compromised immune system, you’re more prone to getting sick. You’ll take a long time to recover from illnesses as well.

5. Depression

Do your brain a favor and ditch the processed snacks. Studies showed that diets containing processed foods are linked to higher rates of depression as well as anxiety. Experts believe this link has something to do with how sugar can wreak havoc in your gut, where serotonin is produced. Serotonin is the hormone that helps control your mood.

Highly processed foods are chock-full of additives and preservatives. They provide little to no nutritional value, put you at risk of developing diabetes and make you more susceptible to several health problems. Improve your overall health and lower your risk of developing serious disease by ditching processed foods and eating a well-balanced diet rich in whole foods.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

VeryWellFit.com