'Ultra-Processed' Junk Food Linked to Advanced Ageing at Cellular Level, Study Finds
'Ultra-Processed' Junk Food
Linked to Advanced Ageing at Cellular Level, Study Finds
MARLOWE HOOD, AFP 1 SEPTEMBER
2020
People who eat a lot of
industrially processed junk food are more likely to exhibit a change in their
chromosomes linked to ageing, according to research presented Tuesday at an
online medical conference.
Three or more servings of
so-called "ultra-processed food" per day doubled the odds that
strands of DNA and proteins called telomeres, found on the end of chromosomes,
would be shorter compared to people who rarely consumed such foods, scientists
reported at the European
and International Conference on Obesity.
Short telomeres are a marker
of biological ageing at the cellular level, and the study suggests that diet is
a factor in driving the cells to age faster.
While the correlation is
strong, however, the causal relationship between eating highly processed foods
and diminished telomeres remains speculative, the authors cautioned.
Each human cell has 23 pairs
of chromosomes that contain our genetic code.
Telomeres do not carry
genetic information, but are vital for preserving the stability and integrity
of chromosomes and, by extension, the DNA that all the cells in our body relies
on to function.
As we get older, our
telomeres shorten naturally because each time a cell divides, part of the
telomere is lost.
That reduction in length has
long been recognised as a marker of biological age.
Scientists led by professors
Maria Bes-Rastrollo and Amelia Marti, both of the University of Navarra in
Spain, wanted to explore a suspected connection between the regular consumption
of highly processed junk food and shrinking telomeres.
Not real food
Earlier studies had pointed
to a possible link with sugar-sweetened drinks, processed meats, and other
foods loaded with saturated fats and sugar, but the findings were inconclusive.
Ultra-processed foods are industrially manufactured
substances composed of some mix of oils, fats, sugars, starch, and proteins
that contain little if any whole or natural foods.
They often include artificial
flavourings, colourings, emulsifiers, preservatives, and other additives that
increase shelf-life and profit margins.
These same properties,
however, also mean that such foods are nutritionally poor compared to less
processed alternatives, the researchers said.
Earlier studies have shown
strong correlations between ultra-processed foods and hypertension, obesity,
depression, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
These conditions are often
age-related in so far as they are linked to oxidative stress and inflammation
known to influence telomere length.
Marti and colleagues looked
at health data for nearly 900 people aged 55 or older who provided DNA samples
in 2008 and provided detailed data about their eating habits every two years
thereafter.
The 645 men and 241 women
were equally divided into four groups, depending on their consumption of
ultra-processed foods.
Those in the high-intake
group were more likely to have a family history of cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, and abnormal blood fats.
They also consumed less foods
associated with the Mediterranean diet - fibre, olive oil, fruits, vegetable,
and nuts.
Compared to the group who ate
the fewest ultra-processed foods, the other three showed an increased likelihood
- 29, 40, and 82 percent, respectively - of having shortened telomeres.
The findings were published
earlier this year in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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