How much junk food is actually in your body?
Concerned you might be consuming too many ultra-processed foods? A recent study suggests that blood and urine tests could soon help determine just how much of your diet includes these heavily modified items.
Published in PLOS Medicine on May 20, the study found that specific chemicals, or metabolites, found in bodily fluids can indicate how much ultra-processed food a person has eaten. These metabolites are created as the body breaks down such foods for energy. The researchers, led by Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute, developed a scoring system based on these chemical markers that could help measure ultra-processed food intake more objectively.
Ultra-processed foods are largely made from ingredients extracted from natural sources — such as sugars, fats, and starches — and often include artificial additives for taste, appearance, and shelf-life. Common examples include packaged snacks, sugary cereals, frozen meals, and processed meats. While convenient, a growing body of research has tied these foods to serious health concerns. One study, for instance, found that even a 10% increase in consumption is linked to a 3% rise in the risk of premature death.
To explore how ultra-processed food consumption could be monitored more accurately, researchers analyzed samples from 718 older adults over the course of a year. They identified hundreds of metabolites linked to processed food intake and narrowed them down to specific sets that could effectively serve as biomarkers. These findings were then tested in a controlled lab environment where participants followed both high and no ultra-processed food diets. The results confirmed that these metabolite levels reflected recent dietary patterns with impressive accuracy.
This new testing method could greatly improve how scientists study the health effects of ultra-processed foods by removing the need to rely solely on self-reported dietary information. While promising, the researchers emphasized the need for further testing across diverse populations and dietary habits to fully validate the approach.
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