Processed food raises heart risk by 47 percent

We’ve all had the memo that processed foods are bad for us—but now researchers have put a number to it.

People who regularly eat processed food increase their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart attack and stroke, by as much as 47 percent.

And too many Americans are eating a lot of processed food: it’s the staple food for 60 percent of adults and 70 percent of children.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University calculated the impact of the foods on 4,787 American adults with an average age of 55.

The foods may not only be increasing the risk of CVD: they could also be causing gastrointestinal problems and colon cancer, the researchers warn.

It’s been known for a while that the food is bad for the heart—it has been linked to obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and insulin resistance—but the researchers are among the first to calculate the actual risk.

They liken the awareness of the dangers of processed foods to smoking when the tobacco industry resisted the evidence of the damage of smoking for years until it eventually became a risk everyone was aware of.

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