Ultra-processed foods may raise IBD risk

Share on PinterestNew research suggests a link between highly processed foods and inflammatory bowel disease. BanksPhotos / Getty Images A global increase in the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been accompanied by an increase in Western dietary patterns. Clinicians have long suspected that highly processed foods can affect gastrointestinal (GI) health, but they lacked the evidence to confirm this link. A recent multinational study provides good evidence that regular consumption of highly processed foods and beverages is linked to inflammation and IBD.

IBD is more common in affluent countries than in countries with lower median incomes. However, cases are increasing in developing countries where highly processed foods are increasingly available and popular.

Gastroenterologists have suspected for years that highly processed foods can contribute to inflammation and IBD. However, only a few clinical studies have evaluated this hypothesis on a large scale.

A recent multinational prospective cohort study examined the relationship between the consumption of highly processed foods and the risk of developing IBD.

Neeraj Narula, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, led the study. The results appear in the British Medical Journal.

IBD is a group of diseases that cause chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis fall into this category.

Approximately 3 million people in the United States live with IBD.

Some studies suggest genetic risk factors for the disease, but there is growing evidence linking diet patterns to their development.

Ashkan Farhadi, MD, MS, FACP, a gastroenterologist and author, describes IBD as “a disease of wealthy nations”.

With the economic progress of societies, he says, they are giving up traditional methods of growing, preparing and preserving food and resorting to practically packaged products.

In a recent interview with Medical News Today, he praised the current study as the first cohort study to identify processed foods as the driving force behind the development of IBD.

Previously, Dr. Farhadi: “There was no actual research showing what was happening” [to gut health] when a nation is doing better economically. “

Dr. Farhadi also praised the researchers for ingesting ultra-processed beverages, unlike most other research.

The NOVA food classification system defines four categories of food: unprocessed and minimally processed foods, processed ingredients, processed foods, and highly processed foods.

Highly processed foods include most of the mass-produced foods and beverages. These items contain food additives such as emulsifiers, preservatives, added sweeteners and flavorings, trans fats and colorings.

Prof. Tim Spector, author and epidemiologist at King’s College London in the UK and co-founder of the personalized nutrition program ZOE, shared his findings on ultra-processed foods with MNT.

Prof. Spector claimed that adults in the United States eat more highly processed foods than people living in any other country in the world. He explained that highly processed foods account for more than 60% of their caloric intake.

Narula and his team evaluated the medical data of more than 116,000 adults aged 35 to 70 years. Participants came from 21 low, middle and high income countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China.

From 2003 to 2016, the participants completed a questionnaire on food frequency at least every 3 years.

They reported their consumption of “all types of packaged and formulated foods and beverages that contain food additives, artificial flavors, colors or other chemical ingredients”.

The primary endpoint of the study was the diagnosis of IBD after completing the baseline questionnaire.

Participants in North America, South America and Europe reported higher consumption of highly processed foods than in the other regions. The incidence of IBD was also higher in these three areas.

Previous research suggests that certain foods increase the risk of developing IBD.

For example, the popular low-FODMAP diet encourages people with IBD to avoid foods high in specific sugars.

Narula’s team concluded that consuming more highly processed foods and beverages increases the likelihood of developing IBD.

However, the study failed to confirm a causal link between highly processed foods and the development of IBD.

Although high consumption of highly processed foods has been linked to a higher incidence of IBD, consuming the same foods in unprocessed form does not pose the same risks. From this, the researchers conclude that the risk of IBD is linked to the processing of the food.

The study authors mentioned several limitations that may have influenced their results.

First, they acknowledge that food questionnaires may not capture absolute intake. However, they point out that these can record the relative – high vs. low – intake of the food categories in question.

In addition, the researchers are unsure whether their findings, obtained from participants aged 35 or over, are applicable to children or young adults with IBD.

The age range of the study participants may also have limited their ability to determine risk factors for Crohn’s disease.

Although the study does not take into account changes in diet over time, the diet patterns reported appeared to remain stable.

However, the observational nature of the study may have left a certain bias due to unmeasured variables such as antibiotic use in childhood and unknown confounding factors.

Narula and his team hope further research can clarify how highly processed foods can trigger IBD.

According to Spector, “most clinicians and gastroenterologists believe that the quality of nutrition is really important to good health.”

He is of the opinion that the consumption of “inferior” foods disturbs the intestinal microbes, weakens the immune system and causes the inflammatory overreactions behind many common diseases.

The professor hopes that the current study and his own work on personalized nutrition, which he is doing as part of the ZOE project, will stimulate a more mindful and proactive approach to food. He also wants doctors to advise patients on how to assess the quality of food. He said:

“[We’re] try to educate people about what’s in the food, [to] Start thinking differently about food […] – not just as calories, fats or proteins, but what do all these chemicals do to your body? “