Health Risks of Processed Foods and Why They Should Be Limited by Nevaeh Hernandez

My name is Nevaeh Hernandez and The purpose of my article is to explain the Health Risks of Processed Foods and Why they should Be Limited

nhernandez78563 — 2025-01-27 23:19:08 UTC

I am a high school student-runner that loves to read and go out with friends and family. 🌺☀️

What are the health risks of Processed foods and Why they should be limited?

I hope to learn about what health risks are formed when eating Processed foods and the reason behind why Processed foods are unhealthy

Article 1: "Processed Foods and Health" by Harvard School of Public Health

nhernandez78563 — 2025-01-31 18:43:07 UTC

Summary: Processed foods are seen to be convenient for busy people to save time in the kitchen. Processed foods however cause many health risks that include weight gain contributing to the obesity epidemic, increased risk of death, and type-2 diabetes. Processed foods don't provide the nutrients and minerals a person needs. This may include high sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats that take an effect on heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. However most processed foods may include beneficial ingredients people need that include protein, calcium, fiber, vitamin B and D. The article also suggests ways to reduce the consumption of processed foods by adding more fresh and minimally processed ingredients to your grocery cart. Cooking homemade meals from fresh food can decrease your health risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and etc.

5 key take aways:

Processed foods contribute to the obesity epidemic and rising prevalence of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
Cons of processed foods are that nutrients can be destroyed which limits a persons intake of vitamins and minerals needed on a daily basis.
Ultra processed foods like meat and potato chips is associate with weight gain over 4 years
A higher consumption of processed foods is associated with a 62% increased risk of death.
An ultra high processed food intake is associated with a higher risk of type-2 diabetes.

Article 2: "The Many Health Risks of Processed Foods" by Laborers Health & Safety Fund of North America

nhernandez78563 — 2025-01-31 19:00:31 UTC

Summary: Processed foods are created to be more convenient to people and more favorable to enjoy eating. Processed foods are heavily processed because they have been chemically altered with artificial ingredients, flavors, and additives. Ultra processed foods contribute to 57% and more of the calories we consume in a day which can increase cancer risk from 12%. Processed foods have unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium, and fat that leads to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. However, there are ways we can reduce processed foods in our diets that include checking food labels, shopping outside the aisle of the grocery store, opt for minimally processed meats, and cook more meals at home.

5 key takeaways:

Ultra processed foods contribute to more than 57% of the calories we consume a day which is around an estimate of 1,190 calories.
Processed foods are full of artificial ingredients where there are around 5,000 substances added to food.
An increased cancer risk where 10% increase in consumption of processed foods contribute to a 12% higher risk for cancer
Processed foods are more than half the calories in an American diet.
Processed foods strip many nutrients and minerals away that people need.

Blog post from Article 1 "Processed Foods and Health" by Harvard School of Public Health

nhernandez78563 — 2025-02-01 03:02:15 UTC

According to the article, the article stated "Bread and frozen meals are some of the most consumed ultra processed foods in the U.S. even though they are good products, they are high in sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats." Almost every American has eaten a frozen meal anywhere they go this may include eating fast food, eating with family, and etc. After reading the article I was not surprised how any food we eat has went under processing in order to make food flavor able and last longer. I am not surprised also because many Americans have a significant amount of health risks that includes heart disease, obesity, and cancer due to their intake and other factors. After reading the article I got more concerned with how food is created to be addicting and flavor able which makes is hard for people to resist unhealthy foods and eat healthier choices.

Blog 2 from Article 1: "Processed Foods and Health" by Harvard School of Public Health

nhernandez78563 — 2025-02-01 03:27:03 UTC

According to the article, the article stated "A popular system to classify processed foods was introduced in 2009, called the Nova classification." My reaction was shocking because I didn't know there are different types of food processing because I thought food processing was just in 1 category all together. The article presents unprocessed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra processed foods. My concern was the ultra processed foods because many Americans in the U.S. eat fast food and fast food restaurants contain a significant amount of salt, sugar, fat, preservatives, artificial sweeteners etc. The use of ingredients mentioned contributes big time to health risks that the article mentions which are obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Overall, I did think about how it was a great idea to include the Nova classification in the article because it can give people insight and an understanding of food and to help people make better intake decisions.

Blog 3 Article 2: "The Many Health Risks of Processed Foods" by Laborers Health & Safety Fund of North Amercia

nhernandez78563 — 2025-02-01 04:09:19 UTC

According to the article, the article states "It is very easy to over indulge in unhealthy food and consume more calories than we realize. Processed foods are designed to stimulate our brain's "feel-good" dopamine center, making people crave more of them in the future." I was not surprised because I have been knowing that ingredients added to processed foods makes you addicted to consuming. Processed foods can be tasty but they can alter your brain to over eating and having an addiction. The addiction of consuming processed foods or eating excessive amounts leads to health issues and risks of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes which was also mentioned from article 1. The highlight of the similar health risks mentioned from both articles make me feel worried but also aware so that people including myself can optimize to make healthier food choices and habits.

Blog post 4 Article 4: "The Many Health Risks of Processed Foods" by Laborers Health & Safety Fund of North America

nhernandez78563 — 2025-02-01 04:41:46 UTC

According to the article, the articles states "A five-year study of over 100,000 people found that every 10 percent increase in consumption of ultra processed food was associated with a 12 percent higher risk for cancer." The information given from the article shocks me because the risk percentage significantly increases and how processed foods are a staple in mostly everyones diets due to convenience. The article reminds me of how whatever we eat can impact our health in the long term. I think it is important for people to be aware of what they eat and to also eat in moderation to prevent health risks such as cancer and etc from increasing. I feel like the more aware people are the more mindful people can be about the ingredients they eat and eating more whole foods to maintain a long healthy lifestyle.

Reflection

nhernandez78563 — 2025-02-05 18:15:42 UTC

New skills I developed during the project was researching skills because I was looking for reliable articles from Universities and organizations. Researching skills can apply to my future because I am majoring in Biology and researching is a big thing to do. Researching will help me find quotes and evidence for my essays in college that can be reliable. Not only that but researching skills can help me read reliable articles to know if I am reading the truth or not.

What I have learnt from my topic is that processed foods can cause health risks such as cancer, Diabetes, and heart disease. Processed foods can destroy the needed nutrients and minerals a person needs in a daily basis. Since processed foods are seen to be convenient they can have high calories that take up 57% of your calorie intake that contributes to weight gain. Not only contributing to weight gain but contributing to the obesity epidemic. Overall Processed foods should be minimally eaten due to the health risks imposed causing death, heart disease, and diabetes also obesity.