- A new study finds that people who eat more ultra-processed foods and less unprocessed foods have an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease, a condition whose precise causes are not yet fully understood.
- Ultra-processed foods include a variety of commercially produced items that are increasingly found in diets in the United States and around the world.
- Experts believe such foods upset the balance of microbiota in the colon, resulting in gastrointestinal inflammation.
It is unclear what causes Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in which the gastrointestinal tract becomes inflamed. Experts suspect it may be some combination of genetic and environmental factors involving the immune system.
A new study from researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario considers something more specific.
The researchers found a strong association between consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods and a heightened risk of developing Crohn’s disease.
The new study is actually a systematic review and meta-analysis of five existing cohort studies conducted between 2020 and 2022.
They investigated a link between such foods and IBD — including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — and involved more than 1 million people.
The researchers found no significant link between ultra-processed foods and ulcerative colitis.
The meta-analysis appears in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are foods that are low in dietary fiber, high in saturated fats, contain simple sugars, and include additives such as emulsifiers.
Commercially produced, pre-packaged foods are often UPFs.
Examples include:
- processed proteins, such as chicken nuggets and hot dogs
- cold breakfast cereals
- sodas
- sauce products
- snack chips
- ice creams
- biscuits and some types of bread
- fruit drinks
- refined sweetened foods, such as energy bars, candy, chocolates, jams, jellies, pudding, brownies, and cakes.
According to the U.S.
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