Grant: Project Grant

Having poor dietary habits is one of the major risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes. It has been known for more than 50 years that diets rich in saturated fat, sugar and sodium (salt) influence several risk factors of these disease, including blood cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. More recently, research has suggested that the degree of food processing may also be an important risk factor for chronic diseases. Ultra-processed foods are ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals and snacks that often come in colorful packages. They are made with many ingredients and they usually go through a lot of steps in factories before being sold and eaten. Although ultra-processed foods are important sources of saturated fat, sugar and sodium in our diets, it remains unclear if their harmful effects on health is due to their poor nutrient content, the degree of food transformation and processing, or both. The objective of this research is to identify the characteristics of ultra-processed foods that influence blood cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. We hypothesize that the nutrient composition of ultra-processed foods (high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium), not the degree of food processing of foods, is responsible for most of their harmful effects on these risk factors. This research is important for many reasons. We may show that consuming some ultra-processed foods may be part of a balanced diet if these foods are not important sources of saturated fat, sugar and sodium. This research will be very useful to inform future dietary guidelines on ultra-processed foods such as those found in Canada's Food Guide.