One type of food that most people eat on a regular basis could be making us age faster, according to a study. 

Researchers at the University of Casamassima analysed over 22,000 people and have found that ultra-processed foods are linked to accelerated ageing.

Ultra-processed foods include not only packaged snacks or sugary drinks, but also seemingly “harmless” products such as mass-produced or packaged bread, fruit yoghurt, some breakfast cereals or meat alternatives.

These foods are rich in additives and preservatives but low in fibre, which can impact glucose metabolism and gut health.

The study used over thirty different blood biomarkers to measure biological age, with many of the participants who consume lots of ultra-processed foods having a higher biological age than their chronological one.

Unlike chronological age (determined by the date of birth), biological age reflects the state of our body, including organs, tissues and systems.

Using their blood biomarkers, researchers were able to estimate participants’ consumption of ultra-processed foods - foods made with substances not routinely used in the kitchen (e.g. hydrolysed proteins, maltodextrins, hydrogenated fats).

The team behind the study say their findings underscore the need for dietary guidelines that consider food processing levels and encourage whole-food consumption to promote long-term health.

Simona Esposito, a researcher at the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention and first author of the study, said: “Our data show that a high consumption of ultra-processed foods not only has a negative impact on health in general, but could also accelerate ageing itself, suggesting a connection that goes beyond the poor nutritional quality of these foods.”

“The mechanisms through which ultra-processed foods can be harmful to human health are not yet entirely clear,” explained researcher Marialaura Bonaccio, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention-IRCCS Neuromed.

“Besides being nutritionally inadequate, being rich in sugars, salt and saturated or trans fats, these foods undergo intense industrial processing that actually alters their food matrix, with the consequent loss of nutrients and fibre.

“This can have important consequences for a series of physiological functions, including glucose metabolism and the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota. Also, these products are often wrapped in plastic packaging, thus becoming vehicles of substances toxic to the body”.