Over 540 million people globally live with type 2 diabetes. In the last three decades, the prevalence of this lifestyle disease has drastically increased in developed and developing countries. One way to reduce your type 2 diabetes risk is to cut down on your intake of ultra-processed foods. Because even just a 10% higher intake of ultra-processed foods like savory snacks, animal-based products, and ready-to-eat meals is associated with a 17% higher incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, a recent study reported.
“We demonstrate that replacing UPF with other lower degrees of food processing is associated with lower incident type 2 diabetes mellitus,” the researchers explained in their study. “There are several potential mechanisms linking greater ultra-processed food intake and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus.”
“These mechanisms include nutrient and energy content/density, displacement of healthy foods and lower adherence to national public health dietary guidance, adverse effects of preservatives, neo-formed contaminants (pollutants that form during the process of preparing ultra-processed foods), additives and colors (such as inflammation), dysregulated mechanisms of weight regulation and weight gain,” the researchers explained.
In a press release, Samuel Dicken from the UCL Division of Medicine and lead author of the study, said: “The good news is that replacing UPF with less processed foods was associated with a reduced type 2 diabetes risk.” The results of the study highlighted that replacing 10% of ultra-processed foods in your diet with minimally processed foods was linked to a 14% lower type 2 diabetes risk.
Minimally processed foods include items like eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, and nuts. Interestingly, the study also revealed that not all ultra-processed foods are linked to type 2 diabetes. The researchers emphasized that bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals, and their plant-based alternatives are associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes compared to the above-mentioned ultra-processed foods.
Rachel Batterham, the senior author of the study from UCL Division of Medicine, said in a press release: “The UPF subgroup analysis in this study has been revealing and confirms that not all foods categorized as ultra-processed foods are alike in terms of the health risks associated with them. Breads and cereals, for example, are a staple of many people’s diets. Based on our results, I think we should treat them differently to savory snacks or sugary drinks in terms of the dietary advice we provide.”
The researchers had analyzed the data of 311,892 individuals who were a part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) that delved into the participants’ dietary patterns and behaviors.
Of that, 14,236 people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
This study’s findings were published in The Lancet Regional Health recently.
Several studies warn that globally, people are consuming higher amounts of ultra-processed foods than ever before — which could result in a significantly greater burden of chronic diseases like cancer, obesity, depression, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
The researchers further noted: “These findings have led to calls for policy action on UPF. However, debate surrounds whether UPF intake should be reduced, or whether UPFs should be reformulated to improve their nutrient quality. Furthermore, several key questions must be addressed to guide the most appropriate policy action.”
