[LifeStyle] High consumption of ultra-processed foods shortens telomeres (and life)

[#Steeven.™]

At this point, most of us are aware of the determining role that food plays, along with other factors, in our health. And in the same way, there is no longer any reasonable doubt that justifies the inclusion of ultra-processed foods in our diet or their habitual consumption.

Ultra-processed foods are industrial preparations made from substances derived from other foods that include long lists of additives (preservatives, colorings, sweeteners or flavor enhancers), with very little nutritional value, that are rich in fat, sugar or salt and they provide, obviously, a huge amount of calories.

The problem is that more and more they occupy a preferential place in our shopping list. Whether because of its flavor, for economic reasons or as a consequence of a lifestyle that rarely allows us a break to calmly face the four stoves, the truth is that they are an easy solution. It is not without consequences.

And it is that a new work by CIBEROBN researchers, attached to the University of Navarra, have found in their latest work that a high consumption of ultra-processed foods accelerates cell aging by shortening telomeres.

The research, led by Professor Amelia Martí and published in the journal 'The American Journal Of Cinical Nutrition', has focused on examining the influence of diet on the integrity of genetic material or DNA, particularly telomeres (age markers cells that reflect aging) that can be shortened either by the aging of age or by other causes such as inadequate nutrition.

And in this sense, the conclusion reached by the experts after monitoring a large group of participants over 55 years of age belonging to the cohort 'Follow-up University of Navarra' (SUN) is that, indeed, diet is essential . "Our findings show the existence of an association between a high consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of having shorter telomeres", explains Lucía Alonso, first author of the work.

 

Years full of life
“The most important and novel thing was that a high consumption of these ultra-processed foods (more than three servings a day), deteriorates telomeres and accelerates their shortening. These results confirm at the molecular level those of large previous studies carried out in Spain, France and the USA that recently found higher premature mortality associated with a high consumption of ultra-processed foods ”, conclude the researchers for whom the study of telomeres in relation to aging "does not pretend the search for immortality, but rather seeks to prolong what worries so much: a healthy life that not only fills life with years, but also fills years with life."