From premature ageing and eggs to microplastics in food

The latest research into what affects your health

As we move ever closer to the end of 2024, we move no closer to improving the overall health of nations, despite many excellent studies published this year that reveal how best to achieve optimal health with the right food.

The health of the processed food industry, on the hand, goes from strength to strength. It’s a good job most of us still have a choice, but a pity so many make poor choices.

This November, we learned that ‘Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with the acceleration of biological aging’. Ageing is a risk factor for just about everything, including loss of cognitive function and dementia.

Normal ageing is one thing, but premature ageing is quite another. This research was based on an analysis of the diets of nearly 22,500 Italian adults. The study also measured 36 circulating biomarkers of the participants, to compute their biological age. The overall finding was that those with the highest intake of ultra-processed foods had the worst biomarkers for health, making them effectively old for their age.

Ultra-processed foods are low in nutrients and high in undesirable, poor quality ingredients. I am, frankly, dismayed to learn that so many Italian adults are now eating these UPFs, in a country where real food is historically and culturally sacrosanct.

UPFs are generally the food of choice of adolescents rather than adults, so these findings are a disturbing harbinger of the future of human health.

Adolescents tend to eat the worst diets, and those adolescents with poor food security have the worst diets of all. Most – over 60% - of adolescents have shortfalls in, well, everything, most notably protein, iron, folate, vitamin B12, phosphorus, magnesium, choline, calcium, vitamin D and potassium.

One potential solution, according to research published in September, is to get the nation’s youth to eat just one egg a day. Doing so will provide ‘meaningful’ contributions to their nutrition status and increase the levels of many missing nutrients.

That’s an excellent and simple solution, in theory. But as anyone willl tell you, you can lead an adolescent to eggs….

Eggs are one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D. As you probably know, it’s a vitamin (actually, more of a hormone) that is made in the skin in the presence of sunlight.

One thing that is becoming increasingly clear is that the blanket advice to completely avoid all exposure to sunlight probably does more harm than good.

An interesting review of the health benefits and risks of sunlight was published this August. Although sunlight is strongly linked to skin cancer, it is also linked to reduced all-cause mortality, including cardiovascular and cancer mortality. In other words, the benefits appear to outweigh the risks.

This risk:benefit ratio is rarely taken into account. Public health advice remains focussed on behavioural changes to avoid the sun as much as possible.

All-cause mortality is much higher in winter than in summer, with a ‘predictable’ rise in cardiovascular disease, and respiratory infectious diseases. Vitamin D is proposed as the reason for this disparity.

Exposure to the sun during the summer months increases blood levels of vitamin D, and the higher the blood level, the lower the risk of death from cardiovascular and other diseases.

‘Numerous diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, metabolic disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and cancer, are all associated with low measured vitamin D levels’

Hypertension is particularly interesting, because it tends to correlate directly with latitude and season, being more common during the winter months. People with the highest measured levels of vitamin D are half as likely to be diagnosed with hypertension as those with the lowest levels. This suggests a sunlight-related mechanism.

Another condition that is strongly associated with reduced sunlight exposure is myopia. Myopia, or near-sightedness, is a risk factor for glaucoma and cataracts. Children are especially at risk of myopia, and the research now shows that increasing the amount of time they spend outdoors reduces the risks of developing the condition.

As the researchers conclude,

Dermatologists and skin researchers have made great progress in understanding some aspects of the interaction between UV and our skin, but we need to stand back and take a more holistic view of UV exposure and human health.

The diets of adolescents may not be full of nutrients, but they are definitely full of microplastics. This is something that concerns us all.

Microplastics are defined as small pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm in size at the longest point. They are present in all ecosystems and are composed mainly of polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.

Their effect on the endocrine system has been well publicised. Less well known, until now, is how they accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and disrupt the gut microbiome. A review article, published in November, revealed that they also increase intestinal permeability, making the gut ‘leaky’ and allowing toxins to pass into the blood.

Once in the gut, microplastics stay there, being resistant to digestion.

This disruption is linked to digestive disorders, systemic inflammation and various chronic diseases: cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes… the usual suspects. Microplastics also affect the brain and can lead to neurological and psychological disorders.

‘Furthermore, the gut-brain axis may be affected, with potential neuroinflammatory consequences’

Global production of plastic currently stands at 320 million tons annually, eight million of which find their way into the ocean.

Plastic does not degrade well in the environment. Instead, it breaks down into very small, persistent particles. We eat them, drink them and we breathe them in. They are in food, ‘urban’ air, water (tap and bottled) and salt. One kilogram of sea salt contains a staggering 212 particles of these microplastics. The level found in bottled water is double that of tap water.

Microplastics are also abundant in cosmetics, shower gels, facial cleansers, paint, sewage, tyres, plastic bags and bottles.

Their abundance in the environment is mirrored by their abundance in the human body.

‘Additionally, MPs have been detected in breast milk, testicles, and even the heart, highlighting their pervasive nature and potential to induce wide-ranging health effects’

It’s hard, if not impossible, to avoid these microplastics. At best, we can reduce consumption by avoiding plastic-wrapped foods and filter our tap water. Do not heat foods in plastic containers in the microwave. Eat organic wherever possible.

And of course avoid processed foods. The market is flooded with almost as many new products as it is with microplastics. So to end this post, here are some of the latest industry headlines, in case you needed reminding of what not to eat.

Innovations in plant proteins see 'egg replacers' addressing evolving diets and environmental concerns

FoodNavigator 9 October

Replacing oils and fats with water: Deep-tech start-up secures €4.2m

FoodNavigator 22 October

Start-up pitch: How BettaF!sh is creating seafood from seaweed

FoodNavigator 22 October