In California, we see signs warning us that buildings or specific areas we are about to enter contain cancerous chemicals. That sounds like it should be worrying. But people mock Prop. 65 warning plaques because they are so ubiquitous they are meaningless. Amusement parks will have Prop 65 Warning plaques on their turnstiles outdoors as if to inform you that entering an entire outdoor area might give you cancer. You see them in open-air parking lots. You see them as you enter supermarkets and places you can’t reasonably avoid. While they were well-intentioned when voters approved them in 1986, they are now meaningless.
The same is true for a lot of health warnings. It’s easy to dismiss health warnings as alarmist. Even well-intentioned messages can become meaningless without context or information behind it.
Everyone knows that ultra-processed foods are bad for you. They are also cheap and easy. Many people ignore the risk in favor of the benefits. But a new study found that ultra-processed food can be even more dangerous for people with blood sugar concerns.
Other studies have already linked ultra-processed foods to heightened risks of obesity, heart disease, sleep problems, anxiety, depression and early death. The new study found that it is worse for the blood sugar levels of people who have blood sugar concerns. All of the additives can cause extended periods of high blood sugar in people who already struggle with insulin sensitivity.
“There are a lot of ways to look at and measure healthy eating,” said senior author Marissa Burgermaster, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the Univ. of Texas. “We set out to see which measurement was associated with blood sugar control in people with [blood sugar concerns]. We found that the more ultra-processed foods by weight in a person’s diet, the worse their blood sugar control was, and the more minimally processed or unprocessed foods in a person’s diet, the better their control was.”
According to the researchers, it wasn’t just the high amount of sugar in ultra-processed foods that made them so detrimental. They are packed with sodium, synthetic flavors, artificial colors, emulsifiers, sweeteners and artificial ingredients that all impact health. You know what is in the dish when you cook your own food. If you add an artificial sweetener, you add one artificial sweetener, not several. The ingredient lists on some ready-made foods can be almost the length of Moby Dick and just as confusing.
While health warnings can all blur into a meaningless hum, it’s vital to listen. Ultra-processed foods are especially unhealthy for folks with blood sugar concerns. Cooking from scratch isn’t as convenient, but it could significantly benefit your health.
