42 | www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com During the recent pandemic, many families revisited the idea of home-cooked meals together around the family dinner table. More family members were home, and life seemed to slow down somewhat. Unfortunately, the lure of fast-food establishments and readily available pre-packaged, ultra-processed convenience foods easily overrode those good intentions as soon as hectic lifestyles resumed. According to Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer epidemiologist and professor at the Friedman School and School of Medicine at Tufts University, “Today, American adults and children get 58% and 67%, respectively, of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.” Zhang has described ultra-processed foods as “industrial formulations made with ingredients extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories with little or no whole foods.” What is specifically worrisome is the connection between diets high in these chemically altered foods and both heart disease and the presence of colorectal cancer – the third most diagnosed cancer in the United States – in men. Dr. Zhang’s findings are supported by New York University Paulette Goddard Professor Emerita and author Marion Nestle, who has said, “Literally hundreds of studies link ultra-processed foods to obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.” Here is where things get tricky: The reality is that not all processed foods are unhealthy. Zhang has also pointed out that whole-grain foods and dairy products with little or no-sugar-added, such as yogurt, for example, have proven health benefits. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT THE QUESTION TO ALWAYS ASK By Janet E. Perrigo
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