Leave it aside, Maha. The country’s largest heart disease organization has just released a long-awaited guide to the long-awaited ultra-popular food or UPF.
The American Heart Association's new scientific advisory statement is led by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services a few days before the second “make America healthy again” or the MAHA committee report Robert Kennedy Jr.
The first Maha report released in May describes how ultra-popular foods can promote chronic diseases in children. Part II is expected to be proposed on Tuesday, with proposed policy changes set forth.
The key message from the American Heart Association is no surprise: Most super popular foods are terrible when it comes to health, including heart health, and now is the time for the food industry to stop producing them and regulators stop letting them go.
But surprisingly, AHA also first introduced the debate to the question: Are all superprocessed foods unhealthy?
According to the new guidelines for the release of journals on Friday, maybe not. But, in reality, it's just “certain whole grain breads, low-sugar yogurt, tomato sauce, jam or bean-based sauces”, and that's just a few categories. Even those “healthy” options should be monitored to ensure they remain that way, the report added.
Christopher Gardner, vice chairman of the AHA report writing group, said there is no reason to celebrate. “Let's not just because there are a few things that are healthier than most super popular foods filled with sugar, salt and fat,” he said.
“We have a lot of evidence that too much salt, sugar and fat is harmful – we know that we have known since the junk food era.” Who directs the nutrition research group at the Stanford Center for Prevention Research.
“But today's junk food is full of cosmetic additives, which leads to a lot of health problems,” he added. “That's the problem. Can we double down on these problems?”
The AHA guidance has been highly praised by healthcare professionals and policy makers, and experts say the problem of solving ultra-popular food problems cannot come in a better time. New data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans over one year old get 55% of their daily calories from super popular foods. Children between 1 and 18 years old jumped to 62%.
This is worrying, the AHA reports, as the study found a dose-response relationship between ultra-popular foods and heart attacks and stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity and all-cause mortality.
According to a review of 45 people meta-analysis of nearly 10 million people in February 2024, only one extra serving of ultra-liquid food leads to an approximately 50% higher risk of death associated with cardiovascular disease. Dieting more super popular foods may also increase the risk of obesity by 55%, sleep disorders increased by 41%, type 2 diabetes development by 40%, and the risk of depression by 20%.
To address these potential health hazards, the AHA said Americans should stop eating as much harmful UPF as possible, especially those with unhealthy fats, added sugars and salt, while allowing “a handful of options, affordable better diet quality, quality affordable UPF” as part of a healthy diet.
Paulette Goddard, Emerita professor of nutrition, food research and NYU's public health, was disappointed by the guidance.
“The emphasis on 'healthy' UPFS is of no help, and there are two reasons for these two reasons,” Nestlé said in an email. “The few foods in (healthy UPFS) and recent research have shown that even 'healthy' UPFS can induce people to eat the least calories than eat.”
Nestlé, who was not involved in the report, is referring to an August 4 study in which people in the UK lost twice the amount of meals usually at home, and twice the amount they earned when eating store-bought super-deli foods.
This study is by far one of the largest and longest randomized controlled clinical trials of UPFS, trying to create a healthy hyperprocess diet. The ultra-treated foods in the study included recommended amounts of fruit, vegetables and fiber as well as lower levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat. However, the study found that whole foods cooked at home still earned a day of weight loss.
While science tries to find out what UPF additives or treatments contribute to such discoveries, AHA offers some basic advice by assigning superpopular foods to one of three categories: the least healthy, moderate healthy and healthy.
Healthier options include fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables without added sugar or salt; whole grains like oats and brown rice; unsalted seeds and nuts; dried beans and beans; vegetable oils; low-fat pure milk or yogurt; lean, unprocessed meat; and dairy products, unsweetened beverages and water. Plant-based meat and dairy products are also healthy in added sugar, salt and fat.
Medium-healthy foods include white rice and pasta; whole fat dairy products; freshly made refined cereal bread; salty nuts; canned fruit in light syrup; canned salt; hard cheese; replace eggs; and low-sodium, low-fat soup. The shop-buying meals selected by the healthy group above also fall into this category.
Unhealthy groups include the usual culprits – high-fat red meat, pork, processed meat (chicken nuggets, hot dogs, sausage), butter, lard and tropical oils (such as coconut). Sour cream and 100% juice are listed, sugar, honey, maple syrup, cookies, dried dried fruits and canned fruits, tortillas or chips and fries as well.
Exquisite cereal bread, rolls and tortillas are also included, powdered sugar drinks (including energy drinks), liquid cheese products, biscuits, biscuits, cookies, candy, candy cheese, ice cream, ice cream, boxed macaroni, instant jam, instant, pizza, pizza, some canned or canned soups and canned soups and canned soups and canned fruits.
Register for CNN's meals, but better: Mediterranean style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert dietary lifestyle that can enhance your life.