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17.01.2022

How junk food robs you of your muscle strength

The more unhealthy industrially produced foods people over forty eat, the more muscle mass and muscle strength they will lose as the years go by. According to a Chinese epidemiological study, a diet with relatively large amounts of ultra-processed foods accelerates the breakdown of muscle mass and muscle strength.

Study
Epidemiologists from Tianjin Medical University in China asked 5409 people over 40 to describe their diet through questionnaires, so the researchers could determine how many ultra-processed foods the participants consumed.

Ultra-processed foods are foods that are produced at particularly high temperatures. They are packed with AGEs, unhealthy carbohydrates and often even more unhealthy fats. Chips are ultra-processed foods, as are countless snacks, cookies and cakes.

The researchers divided the study participants into 4 equally sized groups [quartiles] on the basis of their intake of ultra-processed foods.

When the study began, and a year later, the study participants had to squeeze a dynamometer with their hands with as much force as possible. The researchers then measured the decrease in grip strength that the study participants could develop.

Results
The more ultra-processed foods the study participants consumed, the more muscle strength the study participants lost.

Mechanism
The researchers suspect that a diet with many ultra-processed foods stimulates AGEs accumulation in the muscle tissues. As a result, they function less well.

Conclusion
"Our study provides further support for public health guidance minimizing the ultra‑processed food intake to improve healthy aging", write the researchers. "Further studies are needed to confirm this finding in diferent populations."

Source:
Eur J Nutr. 2021 Nov 17. doi: 10.1007/s00394-021-02737-3. Online ahead of print.

More:
How ultra processed foods make you fat 23-5-2019
AGEs | The estrogenic effect of unhealthy foods 14.03.2019
The more junk from the food industry you eat, the greater your chance of cancer 04.03.2018

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