{"id":575,"date":"2026-05-27T05:14:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/limpact-des-aliments-ultra-transformes-sur-la-sante-cardiaque\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T05:14:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:14:03","slug":"limpact-des-aliments-ultra-transformes-sur-la-sante-cardiaque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/limpact-des-aliments-ultra-transformes-sur-la-sante-cardiaque\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of ultra-processed foods on heart health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-88736 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aliments-ultra-transforme.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aliments-ultra-transforme.jpg 800w, https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aliments-ultra-transforme-768x381.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>They hide behind clever names, reassuring marketing promises and attractive packaging. However, ultra-processed foods are at the heart of many health concerns today. According to researchers, their impact goes far beyond the simple question of calories: they influence our metabolism, our microbiota, even our mental health.<\/p>\n<p>Ultra-processed foods are packaged products made from traditional ingredients that have undergone significant industrial processing (chemical, physical, biological), and to which flavorings and additives are added.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, high consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to more high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, excess weight, heart attacks and stroke.<\/p><div id=\"linit-214590378\" class=\"linit-dans-le-contenu linit-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8992136571741975\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:250px;height:250px;\" \ndata-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8992136571741975\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1055921646\"><\/ins> \n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Between sodas, prepared meals, packaged snacks, industrial biscuits, very sugary cereals, cold meats, instant noodles, a growing share of our calories comes from highly processed industrial foods. A new clinical consensus published in the European Heart Journal by the European Society of Cardiology affirms that those who consume the most have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death, and calls for a review of our plates.<\/p>\n<p>Ultra-processed foods are easy to consume in large quantities because they are generally soft and easy to chew. They are also hyperpalatable, meaning very tasty. These characteristics can disrupt and prevent normal communication between the gut and the brain, which indicates when we are full.<\/p>\n<p>Ultra-processed industrial products, full of additives and poor in essential nutrients, generate systemic inflammation and lasting oxidative stress. These disturbances affect the gut-brain axis, the pivot of neurological development in the first years of life.<\/p>\n<p>This report focuses on Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF). the risk of heart disease increases by up to 19%, that of atrial fibrillation by 13%, and cardiovascular mortality by up to 65% compared to the lowest consumers. According to the consensus, adults who eat the most UPF also have more obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease or fatty liver, all steps towards heart attack and stroke.<\/p>\n<p>The links between ultra-processed foods and heart disease are consistent and biologically plausible, of course with the link of other lifestyle factors. These foods increase cardiovascular risk mainly by promoting obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and the accumulation of saturated fats in the blood.<\/p>\n<p>By consuming ultra-processed foods, we put aside \u201cgood food\u201d such as fruits, vegetables and simply prepared whole grains.<\/p>\n<p>Very popular, these everyday products are part of the little regular pleasures, and their consumption should remain occasional to preserve a balanced diet and avoid excesses over time, without forgetting to avoid very late meals, which would already reduce the load of ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n<p>Note that the degree of processing and nutritional quality are two dimensions that overlap and do not act in the same way on health.<\/p>\n<p>1\/ Are ultra-processed foods recognized by the length of the ingredient list? No. It is not the number, but the nature of the components that counts. A \u201chomemade\u201d soup with ten vegetables, three spices and broth remains minimally processed.<\/p>\n<p>2\/ Can we find ultra-processed foods in the organic section? Yes. The organic label guarantees the absence of synthetic pesticides and no heavy industrial processes.<\/p>\n<p>3\/ Does the Nutri-Score make it possible to identify ultra-processed foods? No. This label assesses the nutritional quality (salt, sugars, fats), not the degree of processing. Although full of additives, a \u201czero\u201d soda can be rated B because it is sugar-free. Conversely, artisanal sardines in olive oil are rated as C due to their fat content. Traditional cheeses and cured meats are mostly classified E.<\/p>\n<p>4\/ Does ultratransformation change the way the body burns calories? Yes. It is even a risk factor for obesity, because people fed ultra-processed foods consumed 500 calories more per day than others.<\/p>\n<p>5\/ Do ultraprocessed foods increase the risk of mental disorders? Yes. A large study established a direct link between high consumption of these products and a 48% increased risk of anxiety and 22% of depression.<\/p>\n<p>6\/ Is there a lot of air in ice cream? Yes. Of course, you always need a foamy effect to obtain creamy ice cream. But the so-called \u201cflooding\u201d technique has its limits.<\/p>\n<p>To create volume, we inject air under pressure and add emulsifiers (carrageenan or E407 on the label) which help maintain firmness. The loss of taste is compensated for by the addition of enhancers.<\/p>\n<p>7\/ Is wholemeal bread an ultra-processed food? Yes. Don&rsquo;t be fooled by packaging and their promises of fiber that is good for digestion. In reality, the cereal matrix is \u200b\u200bso unstructured that it behaves like a quick sugar. The words \u201cno added sugars\u201d don\u2019t change much.<\/p>\n<p>This is a way of distracting attention from the very high glycemic index of these breads. In addition, to obtain a spongy texture, some brands add pure gluten and additives such as mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids.<\/p>\n<p>Mohand Lyazid Chibout (Iris)<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"screen-reader-text\">Article navigation<\/h2>\n<div id=\"linit-3790591473\" class=\"linit-apres-contenu linit-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8992136571741975\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:250px;height:250px;\" \ndata-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8992136571741975\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1055921646\"><\/ins> \n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They hide behind clever names, reassuring marketing promises and attractive packaging. However, ultra-processed foods are at the heart of many health concerns today. According to researchers, their impact goes far beyond the simple question of calories: they influence our metabolism, our microbiota, even our mental health. Ultra-processed foods are packaged products made from traditional ingredients [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aliments-ultra-transforme.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"L\u2019impact des aliments ultra-transform\u00e9s sur la sant\u00e9 cardiaque","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuisine-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linitiative.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}