The Dangers of Junk Food: Eating Yourself to an Early Grave! By Mrs. Vera West and Mrs (Dr) Abigail Knight
In a world where survival demands strength, discipline, and preparedness, what you put into your body is as critical as any political action. Yet, many of us are unknowingly waging war against ourselves with every bite of ultra-processed junk food, sugary sodas, hot dogs, deli meats, and other heavily engineered "foods" that are more chemical than sustenance. A landmark study of over 540,000 Americans, conducted over nearly 30 years, reveals a chilling truth: those who consume the most ultra-processed foods face a 10% higher risk of dying early, particularly from heart disease and diabetes. This isn't just about weight gain or feeling sluggish, it's about eating yourself to an early grave.
Ultra-processed foods, as defined by the NOVA classification system, are industrial concoctions packed with additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients such as soft drinks, sausages, packaged snacks, and deli meats. These are the staples of convenience, engineered for taste and shelf life but not for health. The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, published in NUTRITION 2024, followed participants aged 50–71 from the mid-1990s and found that those who ate the most ultra-processed foods were significantly more likely to die over the next two decades compared to those who ate the least.
The study's findings are stark: highly processed meats (like hot dogs and deli slices) and sugary soft drinks were among the worst culprits, strongly linked to increased mortality from heart disease and diabetes. Even when researchers controlled for factors like smoking, obesity, and overall diet quality, the link persisted. This suggests something inherently harmful in ultra-processed foods, beyond their high sugar, salt, or fat content. Chemicals, additives, or the loss of natural nutrients during processing may be to blame, though science is still unravelling the exact mechanisms.
For those who value resilience, the parallel is clear: just as political warriors hone their body and verbal tools for battle, you must fuel yourself for survival. Ultra-processed foods are the opposite of preparedness. They weaken your body, clog your arteries, and spike your blood sugar, leaving you vulnerable to chronic diseases that can cut your life short. The study showed no clear link to cancer deaths, but the increased risk of heart disease and diabetes is enough to sound the alarm. Why fuel your body with food that dulls your vitality?
The data also revealed that those who ate more ultra-processed foods tended to have higher body mass indexes and lower Healthy Eating Index scores (a measure of how well a diet aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans). But here's the kicker: even those with better diets or normal weight still faced higher mortality risks if they consumed ultra-processed foods. This isn't just about eating too much, it's about eating the wrong things.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans already recommend limiting processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages, but the study underscores why this advice is critical. To avoid eating yourself to an early grave, consider these steps:
Choose Whole Foods: Choose unprocessed or minimally processed foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and whole grains. These are the fuels of a warrior, not the chemical cocktails of a factory.
Limit the Worst Offenders: Cut back on, or better yet, cut out completely, highly processed meats (hot dogs, sausages, deli meats) and sugary drinks. Replace sodas with water or unsweetened teas, and opt for fresh or minimally processed proteins.
Read Labels Carefully: Ultra-processed foods often hide behind long ingredient lists full of additives, preservatives, and artificial flavours. If it looks like a chemistry experiment, it's not food.
Cook Like a Survivor: Preparing your own meals gives you control over what goes into your body, craft your diet with intention and care.
The NIH-AARP study isn't definitive proof of causality, dietary habits from the 1990s may not fully reflect today's food landscape, but it's a powerful warning. As Dr. Erikka Loftfield, a lead researcher, noted, "There is still a lot that we don't know, including what aspects of ultra-processed foods pose potential health risks." Yet the evidence is clear enough: ultra-processed foods are a liability.
In this chaotic world, survival depends on strength, clarity, and endurance. Ultra-processed foods erode all three, setting you on a path to an early grave. Instead, build your diet with purpose, discipline, and respect for what keeps you strong. Ditch the hot dogs and sodas, and choose foods that fuel a long, resilient life. Your survival depends on it. And so does Western civilisation.
Reference: Loftfield, E., et al. (2024). Ultra-Processed Food Intake and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. NUTRITION 2024.
"A sweeping 23-year follow-up of more than half a million Americans reveals that those who load up on ultra-processed fare—from sugary sodas to deli meats—face about a 10 % higher risk of dying, especially from heart disease and diabetes.
The link remained even when weight, smoking, and overall diet quality were factored out, hinting at something uniquely harmful in heavily engineered foods.
Ultra-Processed Diet Tied to Early Death
A major research study suggests that older adults who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods may face a higher risk of dying earlier. People who reported eating the most processed foods were about 10 percent more likely to die over the next two decades compared to those who ate the least.
The study followed more than half a million U.S. adults for nearly 30 years, making it one of the largest of its kind. The researchers found that eating more ultra-processed foods was linked to a small but noticeable increase in deaths from all causes, especially from heart disease and diabetes. However, no clear link was found with cancer-related deaths.
"Our study results support a larger body of literature, including both observational and experimental studies, which indicate that ultra-processed food intake adversely impacts health and longevity," said Erikka Loftfield, PhD, Stadtman Investigator at the National Cancer Institute. "However, there is still a lot that we don't know, including what aspects of ultra-processed foods pose potential health risks."
Big Cohort Sheds Light on Risky Foods
The research analyzed data from more than 540,000 people who shared details about their diets in the mid-1990s, when they were between 50 and 71 years old. More than half of the participants have since passed away. Scientists compared death rates between those who ate the most ultra-processed foods and those who ate the least, while also looking at which types of processed foods might be most harmful.
"We observed that highly processed meat and soft drinks were a couple of the subgroups of ultra-processed food most strongly associated with mortality risk, and eating a diet low in these foods is already recommended for disease prevention and health promotion," said Loftfield. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, and deli meat.
For this study, researchers used multiple strategies to classify the level of processing for various food items. This included breaking down food frequency questionnaire data into particular food and ingredient types in addition to incorporating expert consensus to categorize dietary components according to a rubric known as the NOVA classification system.
Hidden Dangers Persist Despite Confounders
The researchers also accounted for other factors that can increase a person's risk of death, such as smoking and obesity. They found that people who consumed more ultra-processed foods also tended to have higher body mass index and a lower Healthy Eating Index score (a measure of diet quality based on how closely a person's diet aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans). However, the analysis showed that these variables did not explain the associations between ultra-processed food consumption and increased mortality, as the associations between higher ultra-processed food intake and mortality risk persisted among people categorized as having better or worse diet quality, as well as among those classified as normal weight or obese.
One caveat is that the study design did not allow researchers to determine causality. In addition, Loftfield noted that the U.S. food supply and dietary preferences have changed considerably since the study's baseline data were collected in the mid-1990s, underscoring the importance of continued research to further elucidate the relationships between food processing and human health."
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