“Ultra-processed” has become the scary word of the decade. Cereals, sliced bread, flavoured yoghurt, ready meals, all thrown in one bag. Now a giant study says the bag might be too big.
The study
Scientists at the US National Cancer Institute looked at 461,682 Americans aged 50 to 71, who joined a diet study in 1995 or 1996. They followed them for a median of almost 19 years. That's a lot of breakfasts.
The result, published in PLOS Medicine on 15 October: total ultra-processed food was not linked to colorectal, or bowel, cancer overall. As the lead researcher Erikka Loftfield put it: “we did not observe an association between total ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and colorectal cancer incidence”.
The plot twist
Look inside the bag and things change. Ultra-processed foods with whole grains, fibre, dairy and calcium were linked to a lower bowel cancer risk. Processed meat was linked to a higher one. Swapping 10% of ultra-processed food for minimally processed food was linked to about 2% lower risk.
So a wholegrain cereal and a hot dog are both “ultra-processed”, but they don't act the same in this study. Your gut could have told you that.
Read the small print
Most people in the study were older white Americans, so the results may not fit everyone. Their diet was asked about only once, at the start, and a lot changed in 20 years. It's an observational study, so it shows links, not proof. And it's only about bowel cancer, not your heart or your waistline.
In the US, ultra-processed foods make up more than half of what adults eat. So the useful question isn't “is it processed?” but “what's in it?”
Practical tip: next time you shop, flip the box and look for “whole grain” and fibre. And maybe leave the salami for Sundays.