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 相关词汇

【调味料】tiáowèiliào condiment something such as salt or pepper that is used to give flavor to food

【多重病症】duōchóng bìngzhèng multimorbidity two or more coexisting conditions in an individual

超加工食品一直以来被妖魔化了。一项新研究显示，虽然部分超加工食品会增加癌症、心脏病和糖尿病的患病风险，但有些超加工食品却对身体健康有益。

一项新的大型跨国研究发现，定期摄入香肠等肉制品和含糖饮料让人更容易患上前述疾病。

根据这项发表在《柳叶刀》上的研究报告，研究人员得出结论：尽管面包和麦片也是超加工食品，但因为含有膳食纤维，它们实际上能降低人们患上这些疾病的风险。

此外，沙拉、蘸酱和调料对健康有害，但不像肉制品和软饮料危害那么大。

其他一些先前被认为有害的超加工食品，例如糖果、甜点、即食餐、咸味零食和植物性肉类替代品，也被解除了警报。研究作者表示，这些食品“与同患多种疾病的发病率没有关联”。

研究人员指出，认为所有超加工食品都有害健康不明智，也是没有根据的。

和之前几个研究项目一样，新研究也得出结论，认为超加工食品总体对健康有害，摄入大量超加工食品会增加猝死风险，比如心脏病发作或中风。然而，新研究更详细地指出哪些超加工食品会增加风险，哪些超加工食品不会。

这项最新研究基于对26万多人的饮食史和患病资料的分析，研究对象来自包括英国在内的7个欧洲国家。

研究作者称：“在这项欧洲跨国前瞻性队列研究中，我们发现摄入超加工食品和患癌症、心血管代谢疾病等多重病症的风险正相关。”

他们表示，为了“预防同时罹患癌症和心血管代谢疾病”，降低患病风险，应该用“轻加工的类似食品”替换掉饮食中的一些超加工食品，但不是完全不吃；研究人员还推荐采用地中海饮食。

多重病症指的是同时患有至少两种缩短寿命的疾病，比如癌症和心脏病。

研究报告的合著者、世界卫生组织国际癌症研究机构的专家海因茨•弗雷斯令表示：“我们的研究强调，不是完全不吃，而是要尽量少吃超加工食品，多吃新鲜的或者轻加工食品。”

(Translated by Debra)