At present, the United States has the lowest life expense, the top dozen richest

countries in the world.

We also have the greatest share of our diet composed of ultra-processed foods.

In fact, most of our diet.

Most of what goes into our mouth isn't considered real food.

Could there be a connection?

Ultra-processed foods are said to be troublesome for a wide variety of reasons,

like all the packaging, etc.

But I'm just going to discuss the health aspects.

Based on studies encompassing nearly 10 million participants,

greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of a variety of

adverse health outcomes, including all-cause mortality, meaning living a significantly shorter

life. As a reminder, ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations of processed food substances

that contain little to know whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings,

and multifiers and other cosmetic additives.

Think Twinkie, so nutritionally vacuous that you could go blind from nutrient deficiencies,

if that's all you ate, like this 14-year-old boy who apparently lived off french fries,

Pringles, white bread, ham, and sausage.

Some of the health outcomes make sense, like higher ultra-processed food consumption being associated

with more dental cavities in kids.

That makes sense since a lot of them are packed with sugar.

Higher ultra-processed food consumption is also associated with an increased risk of high blood

...