Some ultra-processed foods increase the risk of developing cancer, heart disease and diabetes — but others are good for you, new research into the demonized foodstuffs suggests. A major new international study has found that regular consumption of meat products — such as sausages — and sugary drinks make it more likely that someone will get those diseases. But bread and cereals actually reduce a person’s risk of them — because they contain fiber — despite also being ultra-processed foods (UPF), the same researchers also concluded, in findings published in The Lancet. Similarly, sauces, spreads and condiments are also bad for human health, but not as much as animal products and soft drinks. However, several other major types of UPF previously seen as harmful: sweets and desserts, ready meals, savory snacks and plant-based alternatives to meat products also got the all-clear. They are “not associated with risk of multimorbidity,” said the authors. Researchers said the findings showed that regarding all UPF products as bad for health is unwise and unwarranted. Like several other recent research projects, the new study did conclude that UPF harms human health and makes it more likely that someone who consumes a lot of it would suffer a potentially fatal event, such as a heart attack or stroke. However, it also gives a more detailed picture of exactly which UPF products do and do not heighten that risk. The latest study is based on an analysis of the dietary history of, and illnesses experienced by, 266,666 people in seven European countries, including the U.K. The authors said: “In this multinational European prospective cohort study, we found that higher consumption of UPF was associated with a higher risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases.” People keen to lower their risk should replace some but not all UPF in their diet with “similar but less processed foods … for the prevention of cancer and cardiometabolic multimorbidity” or follow the Mediterranean diet, they said. Multimorbidity is when someone has at least two life-shortening diseases at the same time, such as cancer and heart disease. Heinz Freisling, a co-author of the paper and expert at the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency IARC, said: “The study emphasizes that it is not necessary to completely avoid ultra-processed foods; rather, their consumption should be limited, and preference be given to fresh or minimally processed foods.”(SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關詞匯 【調味料】tiáowèiliào condiment something such as salt or pepper that is used to give flavor to food 【多重病癥】duōchóng bìngzhèng multimorbidity two or more coexisting conditions in an individual 超加工食品一直以來被妖魔化了。一項新研究顯示，雖然部分超加工食品會增加癌癥、心臟病和糖尿病的患病風險，但有些超加工食品卻對身體健康有益。 一項新的大型跨國研究發現，定期攝入香腸等肉制品和含糖飲料讓人更容易患上前述疾病。 根據這項發表在《柳葉刀》上的研究報告，研究人員得出結論：盡管面包和麥片也是超加工食品，但因為含有膳食纖維，它們實際上能降低人們患上這些疾病的風險。 此外，沙拉、蘸醬和調料對健康有害，但不像肉制品和軟飲料危害那么大。 其他一些先前被認為有害的超加工食品，例如糖果、甜點、即食餐、咸味零食和植物性肉類替代品，也被解除了警報。研究作者表示，這些食品“與同患多種疾病的發病率沒有關聯”。 研究人員指出，認為所有超加工食品都有害健康不明智，也是沒有根據的。 和之前幾個研究項目一樣，新研究也得出結論，認為超加工食品總體對健康有害，攝入大量超加工食品會增加猝死風險，比如心臟病發作或中風。然而，新研究更詳細地指出哪些超加工食品會增加風險，哪些超加工食品不會。 這項最新研究基于對26萬多人的飲食史和患病資料的分析，研究對象來自包括英國在內的7個歐洲國家。 研究作者稱：“在這項歐洲跨國前瞻性隊列研究中，我們發現攝入超加工食品和患癌癥、心血管代謝疾病等多重病癥的風險正相關。” 他們表示，為了“預防同時罹患癌癥和心血管代謝疾病”，降低患病風險，應該用“輕加工的類似食品”替換掉飲食中的一些超加工食品，但不是完全不吃；研究人員還推薦采用地中海飲食。 多重病癥指的是同時患有至少兩種縮短壽命的疾病，比如癌癥和心臟病。 研究報告的合著者、世界衛生組織國際癌癥研究機構的專家海因茨?弗雷斯令表示：“我們的研究強調，不是完全不吃，而是要盡量少吃超加工食品，多吃新鮮的或者輕加工食品。” (Translated by Debra) | 