Comment by amanj41 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by amanj41 | Hacker News Reader

A concern I've had with past studies has been the dosage of processed foods. It's better to avoid them altogether, but I haven't seen many seeking to find limits on how one can safely have X percent of their diet be from ultra-processed foods and still be healthy.

It seems like the biggest correlation between overall health and processed food intake is that processed foods are calorie dense and lead to weight gain. If excess calories are coming from sugars and unhealthy fats, and one is consuming large amounts of bad additives, that will surely lead to bad outcomes.

What I would like to see is isocaloric studies, where individuals get plenty of fiber, micronutrients and a good macronutritional balance from "healthy" foods, but are also allowed some reasonable percentage of their daily intake to be processed.

Maybe it's the guilt of feeling like I'm a weaker person for being addicted to having desserts or chips on a regular basis, but I also feel like they are pleasures of modern life that are worth enjoying in moderation. I mainly strive to eat healthy for all my core meals, and allow myself ultra-processed snacks, while not gaining weight.

There are guidelines for how much saturated fat, sugar, and other things to have in your diet per day (on average). These are based on many health studies over time.

I try to stay at or below the numbers on average and I do treat myself sometimes. But, I can't very much because it would lead to overeating things that would drive up my cholesterol and cause other bad things. Have to eat lots of fruit and vegetables.

A problem is that most people eating ultra processed foods blow those category numbers away. I was looking at the label on some food this week. One serving size, which is about half of what an American would usually eat, was over half the saturated fat and sugar someone should have per day. For people who eat processed food for most meals, it's easy to go many times these numbers which has a lot of long term consequences.

I have Crohn’s disease and while there’s still a lot that isn’t understood, it’s clear that it’s linked to highly processed food. Crohn’s is more prevalent in western populations and it’s rising in places that are adopting western diets. There are studies showing that patients who don’t see results from medication can still achieve remission through a strict Mediterranean diet.

Obesity is a huge problem and the spotlight on it is warranted, but it’s also a very simple issue to understand and deal with. The effects of ultra processed foods are more complex and far less understood.

I have IBD and definitely believe there is an association. But it still goes back to my question about "is there a safe limit". I think in particular for IBD, IBS, Crohn's etc, my suspicion is that there are two mechanisms at play with ultraprocessed diets:

1. Additives + microplastics in modern diets doing bad things to the microbiome. 2. Fiber intake is being reduced by ultaprocessed diets. I think the lack of pre+pro-biotics is a big deal, and ultraprocessed foods contribute to their reduced intake.

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