According to a new study, conducted by researchers from Italy, eating ultra-processed food may be especially harmful to people who already had a heart attack pr stroke as it significantly increases the risk of a second heart attack or stroke, which may be fatal.
The first author of the study Dr. Marialaura Bonaccio says: “We saw that people with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods have a two-thirds increased risk of a second heart attack or stroke, this time fatal, compared with participants eating these foods less frequently. The probability of dying from any cause is also 40% higher.”
Also, researchers advise consumers to do one simple thing for healthier food choices — to look at the number of ingredients a given food contains. If this number is more than five, this means that the product has a high probability of being an ultra-processed food.