Hidden Side Effect of Ultra-Processed Foods: How they impact Your Health?
At present, ultra-processed foods has become the main food in most of the houses. Ultra-processed food is very simple and tasty, due to which most people like this type of food. But eating too much of this type of food can also have an effect on health, which we will talk about in detail.
What is Ultra Processed Food?
The food that is prepared after going through multiple stages of processing is called ultra-processed foods. Many types of additional harmful ingredients are mixed in it like artificial ingredients, preservatives, and other chemicals. In this type of food, many ingredients like high level of sugar, unhealthy fat, salt are mixed, which is harmful for the body. Example high sugar added drinks, fast food, packaged snacks, noodles and different types of packaged food.
Side effects of Ultra-Processed Foods
Some studies have found that consuming more than this can cause dangerous diseases. If you consume ultra-processed food daily, you may face some dangerous diseases, examples of which are given below.
Obesity and weight gain
Consuming ultra-processed foods in excess increases the chances of obesity and weight gain. Food prepared through this process is made for taste. It contains a lot of calories but due to very low nutritional value, it starts increasing weight in the body overnight and the chances of obesity also increase. This also increases the chances of getting different types of chronic diseases.
Heart disease
This type of food contains a high amount of those healthy fats such as trans fat and saturated fat, which greatly increases the risk of heart disease. This type of fat increases the level of bad cholesterol in the body and gradually decreases the amount of good cholesterol. This type of food contains a high amount of salt content and everyone knows that excess salt can cause high blood pressure in the body, which is responsible for increasing the risk of heart disease.
Diabetes
High added sugar drinks come in highly processed food, which contains a lot of sugar content and it increases the chances of type 2 diabetes. It spikes the blood sugar level and also hinders insulin production over the time. Due to this, the blood sugar level gradually starts getting imbalanced and it increases the risk of diabetes to a great extent.
Cancer
According to some studies, eating too much of this kind of food can lead to some types of cancer. Because many harmful chemicals and additives are mixed in this kind of food to make the food more fresh and preserve it for a longer period. And this reduces the nutrient level to a great extent, which actually works to protect against cancer.
Digestive issues
Ultra processed foods contains very little fiber and fiber actually helps in digestion. Due to lack of fiber, digestive problems occur such as conception and different types of serious conditions develop like diverticulitis. This kind of food can also cause diseases like gastrointestinal discomfiture and inflammation.
Mental health impact
This kind of food not only affects physical health but also mental health. If you consume ultra-processed foods in large quantities, then there are chances of depression and anxiety. And there can be many reasons for this, but the main reason is that it contains very less amount of nutrients which are basically necessary for brain health. Some foods contain very high amount of sugar content which imbalances the blood sugar level and this is linked to mood swings and irritability.
Also Read: Stop! Check the Salt level: Why Packaged foods levels matter
How to reduce Ultra Processed Foods in your diet
Read package level carefully: Whenever you buy any packaged food, do check its nutrient level. If this level is very low then you can consider taking it. But some such packaged foods have a long list of artificial additives, preservatives and other chemicals, so avoid them now.
Choose Whole Foods: You can avoid packaged food or instant food and consume different types of food like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats, which are naturally nutrient dense and are free from harmful additives.
Limit sugary drinks and snacks: There are many such drinks available in the market which have high amount of added sugar and avoid some types of snacks and instead you can accept herbal tea, nuts and fresh fruits.
Cook at home: If you cook at home then there is no better option than this as it will be chemical free and full of nutrients as you can add or remove the ingredients as per your requirement. It is a little time consuming but very effective for health.
