1.
Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort.
Fiolet, T, Srour, B, Sellem, L, Kesse-Guyot, E, Allès, B, Méjean, C, Deschasaux, M, Fassier, P, Latino-Martel, P, Beslay, M, et al
BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 2018;360:k322
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Foods that are heavily processed tend to have high levels of total fat, sugar and salt and low levels of fibre and vitamins. They also tend to have high levels of contaminants (caused for example by high heat treatment), food additives and plastic packaging exposure. This large prospective population-based cohort study assessed the association between ultra-processed food consumption and the incidence of cancer. The study found that ultra-processed food intake was associated with a higher overall cancer risk and a higher breast cancer risk. A 10% increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increase of more than 10% greater risk of overall and breast cancer risk. The authors call for further studies to better understand the different elements of food processing and their association to cancer risk.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the prospective associations between consumption of ultra-processed food and risk of cancer. DESIGN Population based cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS 104 980 participants aged at least 18 years (median age 42.8 years) from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009-17). Dietary intakes were collected using repeated 24 hour dietary records, designed to register participants' usual consumption for 3300 different food items. These were categorised according to their degree of processing by the NOVA classification. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Associations between ultra-processed food intake and risk of overall, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer assessed by multivariable Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for known risk factors. RESULTS Ultra-processed food intake was associated with higher overall cancer risk (n=2228 cases; hazard ratio for a 10% increment in the proportion of ultra-processed food in the diet 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.18); P for trend<0.001) and breast cancer risk (n=739 cases; hazard ratio 1.11 (1.02 to 1.22); P for trend=0.02). These results remained statistically significant after adjustment for several markers of the nutritional quality of the diet (lipid, sodium, and carbohydrate intakes and/or a Western pattern derived by principal component analysis). CONCLUSIONS In this large prospective study, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer. Further studies are needed to better understand the relative effect of the various dimensions of processing (nutritional composition, food additives, contact materials, and neoformed contaminants) in these associations. STUDY REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03335644.
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Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Relation to Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome among Korean Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the 2012⁻2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES).
Shin, S, Kim, SA, Ha, J, Lim, K
Nutrients. 2018;10(10)
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Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in Korea has increased significantly in the last decade and dietary factors, including the consumption of sugar sweetened drinks, is considered one of the key drivers. Soft drinks, soda coffee, fruit juices, sports drinks and sweetened rice drinks are popular beverages in Asia. Consumption of these is a major source of sugar intake for the Korean population. This study analysed data from over 12,112 participants of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) to see if the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages was causally linked to obesity and MetS. Food questionnaires were used in the original study to assess which foods and drinks the participants consumed during a 1-year period. Within the study group the number of participants with obesity was 34.9% and MetS was 26.7% respectively. They found that the participants who regularly consumed >4 sugar sweetened beverages per week consumed more calories on average than those who did not drink these beverages. In men, it was linked to higher blood pressure and blood glucose levels whilst in women it linked to a higher body mass index (BMI), increased waist circumference, and elevated cholesterol. Overall drinking 1 sugar sweetened beverage per day increased the risks of obesity in women by 59% and MetS by 61% whilst in men it increased the prevalence of obesity by 41% and MetS by 7%. Therefore drinking sugar sweetened beverages increases the risk of both obesity and MetS.
Abstract
It is well known that the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increases the risk of developing obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, there are not many studies investigating the link between SSBs and increased incidences of diseases in the Asian population, and in particular, in Korea. We explored the association of SSB consumption with the risk of developing obesity and MetS among Korean adults (12,112 participants from the 2012⁻2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). We calculated the total SSB consumption frequency by counting each beverage item, including soda beverages, fruit juices, and sweetened rice drinks. Obesity was defined as a body mass index ≥25 kg/m², and MetS was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III. A survey logistic regression analyses was conducted to examine the association of SSB consumption with obesity and MetS, adjusting for related confounders such as age, energy intake, household income, education, alcohol drinking, smoking status, and physical activity. The SSB consumption was positively associated with an increased risk of the prevalence for obesity (Odd ratio (OR): 1.60; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23⁻2.09; p for trend = 0.0009) and MetS (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.20⁻2.16; p for trend = 0.0003) among women. In men, SSB consumption only contributed to a higher prevalence of obesity (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.11⁻1.72; p for trend = 0.0041). In conclusion, increased consumption of SSBs was closely linked with a higher prevalence of obesity and MetS in the Korean population.
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Fast food fever: reviewing the impacts of the Western diet on immunity.
Myles, IA
Nutrition journal. 2014;13:61
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This 2014 review delves into the impact that an over-indulgence in foods high in sugar, salt, saturated fats, genetically modified foods, gluten and artificial sweeteners may have on our immune system. The modern western diet is generally characterised as being abundant in these nutrient-poor foods, which exert an unhealthful impact on the body. They report that sugars increase inflammatory markers and reduce white blood cell production. Artificial sweeteners appear to be less inflammatory however data is limited. There is some suggestion that saccharin and sucralose interfere with digestive enzymes and are implicated in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. High salt may increase inflammatory cytokines. Saturated fats and high omega 6 fatty acids from vegetable oils increase inflammatory immune markers such as C-Reactive protein. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats are generally associated with anti-inflammatory effects and regulating immune mediators. Gluten inappropriately activates an immune T-cell response. GM foods may have protective effects against malnutrition but have been shown to induce an allergic response in some cases. There is also concern that genetic modifications can be internalised by our gut bacteria and passed on to offspring. The review concludes that poor dietary choices are encoded into our gut and increase inflammation, and thus reduce our immune resilience to control infection.
Abstract
While numerous changes in human lifestyle constitute modern life, our diet has been gaining attention as a potential contributor to the increase in immune-mediated diseases. The Western diet is characterized by an over consumption and reduced variety of refined sugars, salt, and saturated fat. Herein our objective is to detail the mechanisms for the Western diet's impact on immune function. The manuscript reviews the impacts and mechanisms of harm for our over-indulgence in sugar, salt, and fat, as well as the data outlining the impacts of artificial sweeteners, gluten, and genetically modified foods; attention is given to revealing where the literature on the immune impacts of macronutrients is limited to either animal or in vitro models versus where human trials exist. Detailed attention is given to the dietary impact on the gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which our poor dietary choices are encoded into our gut, our genes, and are passed to our offspring. While today's modern diet may provide beneficial protection from micro- and macronutrient deficiencies, our over abundance of calories and the macronutrients that compose our diet may all lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer, and increased risk for allergic and auto-inflammatory disease.