We’ve heard of all sorts of diets lately, from low-carb to vegetarian, vegan, keto, and so on. However, regardless of the type of diet you choose, there’s one holy rule: don’t eat ultra-processed foods. A 2016 study has shown that 60% of what Americans eat consists of highly processed products, instead of natural, fresh food.
Now, we also have another confirmation of what we already knew regarding this relatively new type of products, but it wasn’t proven yet. Ultra-processed foods are, for sure a cause for weight gain. Indeed, past research also hinted towards this conclusion, but the NIH came with the confirmation.
The National Institutes of Health finally managed to prove that weight gain is a direct result of the mix of nutrients found in these products: from fat, sugar, and salt, to proteins, sodium, fibers, carbs, and calories.
Eating Ultra-Processed Foods Causes Weight Gain
However, the details of this study are even more impressive. In just two weeks, the ten people used for the survey gained around 2 pounds/week by only eating food that was overly processed. Meanwhile, another group ate whole and unprocessed food. During the same period, they lost the same amount of weight.
The two groups we mentioned before were equally divided between women and men. They were invited to live at the NIH facility for a month. In this way, the scientists were able to have complete control over what people eat. For the study, they had specific diets which took into account calories, fibers, sodium, sugars, and so on.
However, the people who participated in the study had no limit regarding the quantity of the food they were allowed to eat. After two weeks, the two groups switched the diets to enable scientists to analyze better the results of their work.
