Eye-opening study into ultra-processed foods and your risk of heart problemsMichelle Basch | *****@*****.tld March 28, 2026, 5:39 AM A report from the American College of Cardiology found people who eat more than nine servings of ultra-processed food a day are an average of 67% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, or die from heart disease than people who eat one serving a day. The study also found that with each daily serving, the risk of such an event goes up by more than 5%. Among Black Americans, each additional serving leads to an increase in risk of more than 6%. Dr. Michele Arthurs, a lifestyle medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, told WTOP that if you’re not sure what you’re eating is ultra-processed, just look at the label. “You can see a long list of ingredients, many of which you may not be able to pronounce because they are additives or chemicals that are used for food preservation to increase shelf life,” she said. These kinds of foods also tend to be loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat. “Our body, essentially, has to fight with them in order to kind of process them and get them through our system. And this leads to inflammation in the body,” Arthurs said. She recognized that many people may find it tough to stop eating ultra-processed foods altogether. Instead, she recommends limiting how much you eat. “It doesn’t mean you can’t have that ballpark hot dog,” Arthurs said, adding that cutting it in half and sharing it with someone was also an option. Other strategies Arthurs recommends to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods include: Eat a healthy meal before you head to an event, like a baseball game, where you know you’ll be exposed to a lot of ultra-processed foods. If you like sugary drinks, try alternating with ones that have little or no sugar. If you love snacking on chips, bring along an orange too, and eat the fruit before diving into the bag of chips. The findings, based on data from more than 6,800 U.S. adults, is being presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session on March 28-30 in New Orleans. They’re also published in the journal JACC Advances. Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here. © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. ARTICLE SOURCE: https://wtop.com/health-fitness/2026/03/eye-opening-study-into-ultra-processed-foods-and-your-risk-of-heart-problems/
I could write my 25 year-old story of how I got here, if anyone is interested, of how I was afraid to eat fat back then -- even though I had seen the results of a friend who went on the Atkins diet, and I'd read "The Cholesterol Myths," by Uffe Ravnskov, shortly after it was translated to English. He was obviously right, beyond "a shadow of a doubt," but it took a couple more similar books and at least a year to overcome the decades-long idea that fat, butter, etc. was bad for me and the substitutes were good for me.
I ran into a guy in town yesterday (I live in a rural area, there is a one-traffic light town five miles away) that I know quite well, but haven't seen him in several years. He is almost 79 and he told me he is diabetic and has to inject insulin (he had a heart attack 6-8 years ago). I told him get rid of the carbs if you want to really fight the disease. I explained to him what I meant by "carbs," and that he could eat all the meat he wants, along with very low-carb veggies.
"Have you seen the price of meat lately?" was his response. Then he went on about how well his wife is taking care of him, making sure he gets all his meds on time, etc. Okay, that is certainly great and I'm glad for him; that's a valuable resource that I don't have. But they're apparently following the "Standard of Care" for diabetics, so we know he is never going to get better or ever get off the drugs.
What I thought of later, that I didn't think of at the time, to his comment about the price of meat, was "What price would you pay for not going blind? Or not having your feet chopped off?"
He's very adept at the internet, so hopefully I put a bug in his ear and maybe he'll do some research. "You can lead a horse to water . . . "