Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to 4 in 10 Cardiovascular Deaths and Increased Mortality Risk
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
May 13, 2025
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Story at-a-glance
- Nearly 38% of cardiovascular deaths in Canada are linked to ultraprocessed foods. These products contribute to 96,000 new heart disease cases and 17,400 deaths each year
- Eating just one additional daily serving of ultraprocessed food raises your risk of obesity by 7%, abdominal fat by 5%, and Type 2 diabetes by 12%
- Ultraprocessed foods increase cognitive decline risk by 16% and stroke risk by 8%, with the strongest effects seen in Black participants
- Processed meat products like hot dogs and deli meats are linked to a 43% higher risk of death from neurodegenerative diseases and a 13% higher all-cause mortality risk
- Even small amounts of ultraprocessed food trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction that accelerate aging and drain your energy daily
Ultraprocessed foods dominate grocery store shelves today in the form of frozen dinners, packaged snacks, and fast-food items. While they offer convenience, they are engineered to hijack your appetite and flood your system with harmful compounds. These products, stripped of real nutrition and loaded with additives, trans fats, and artificial ingredients, are slowly clogging your arteries and setting you up for a heart attack or stroke.
According to a recent study, nearly 38% of all cardiovascular disease deaths in Canada are directly linked to ultraprocessed food consumption.
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OK OK ok, I am a believer. But I still like hot dogs. Don’t eat them anywhere as near as used too but old habits are hard to break.
Luckily my significant other is pescatarian who likes to cook; so I get lots of “good for me food” that’s very tasty.
We’ll see if that helps me make it to 132 (to steal back all the social security dollars “they” stole from me — ignoring the time value of money!).
Diet-wise I’ve been doing better and losing some weight and keeping it off.
My target is 175 — the weight I was in the military — so I have long way to go but I have all the time in world. Laugh! Or so I think. (Remember the fellow who said “think of your age in decades? So I’m only 7!)
YMMV but what’s the harm in trying to avoid soda and UPF (ultra processed foods)?
—30—
Reinke Faces Life 