Oxidative Status of Ultra-Processed Foods in the Western Diet.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have gained substantial attention in the scientific community due to their surging consumption and potential health repercussions. In addition to their well-established poor nutritional profile, UPFs have been implicated in containing various dietary oxidized sterols (DOxSs). These DOxSs are associated with a spectrum of chronic diseases, including cardiometabolic conditions, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we present a comprehensive database documenting the presence of DOxSs and other dietary metabolites in >60 UPFs commonly consumed as part of the Western diet. Significant differences were found in DOxS and phytosterol content between ready-to-eat (RTE) and fast foods (FFs). Biomarker analysis revealed that DOxS accumulation, particularly 25-OH and triol, can potentially discriminate between RTEs and FFs. This work underscores the potential utility of dietary biomarkers in early disease detection and prevention. However, an essential next step is conducting exposure assessments to better comprehend the levels of DOxS exposure and their association with chronic diseases.

Dietary exposure assessment of infant formula and baby foods' oxidized lipids in the US population.

Baby Foods (BFs) and Infant formulas (IFs) are the main sources of nutrition for an infant throughout the 1st year of life. Various enriched products are commercially available for parents seeking to fulfill their baby's nutritional needs. Consequently, different bioactive lipids are present in BFs and IFs, including dietary oxysterols (DOxS), whose known toxicity has been associated with mutagenicity, cancer, and other chronic diseases. In this work, we performed an exposure assessment of 25 bioactive lipids on IFs (n = 30) and BFs (n = 13) commercially available in the US. To determine dietary exposure, we used EPA's SHEDS-HT probabilistic model. Even though ß-Sitosterol was the most exposed bioactive lipid with 75,410 µg/day, cholesterol was the most absorbed compound during the entire first year (19.3 mg/day). Additionally, we found 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7α-OH) as a potential DOxS biomarker of the BFs manufacturing process. This is the first time an infant's exposure assessment (including DOxS) after BFs and IFs consumption is performed, enabling much-needed information regarding these hazardous compounds and their potential effects on infants' health.

Evaluation of the nutritional quality of ultra-processed foods (ready to eat + fast food): Fatty acids, sugar, and sodium.

The average American consumes more than 50% of their total dietary energy from ultra-processed foods (UPFs). From a nutritional standpoint, as UPFs intake increases, fiber, vitamin, and mineral intake decrease. High consumption of UPFs, mainly from fast foods (FF) and ready-to-eat (RTE) food items, emerges as a critical public health concern linking nutritional quality and food safety. In the present work, a systematic database of the fatty acid composition of the most consumed UPFs in the Midwest is reported. Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were predominant in RTE (42.5%) and FF (43.2%), respectively. In addition, the fatty acid profile in UPFs is reported according to six food categories: meat and poultry, eggs and derivatives, dairy products, seafood, baby foods, and others. Meat and poultry, and dairy products were the dominant food categories among UPFs. Meanwhile, polyunsaturated fatty acids were abundant in the eggs and seafood groups UPFs (61.8% and 46.4%, respectively) regardless of the food group. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in sugar content in UPFs. Caloric content was positively correlated with sodium (ρ = 0.748) and price (ρ = 0.534). The significance of this study relies on providing new quantitative data on the fat, sodium, and sugar contents of the most consumed UPFs in the Midwestern area of the United States. This information suggests paying more attention to these nutritional attributes, aiming to reduce their incorporation in UPF preparations. Additionally, more quantitative data are needed regarding other nutritional parameters such as protein and lipid degradation in UPFs. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study provides a profile of the fatty acid composition of the most consumed UPFs in the Midwestern region of the United States, as well as correlations with fat, sodium, and sugar contents in UPFs. The information offered a new perspective on the nutrition quality of UPFs, suggesting the reduction of the incorporation of these attributes in UPFs. Additionally, it will help define priority interventions for more advanced precision nutrition, especially for vulnerable populations, for example, children and older people. The overall decrease in added sugar and sodium and the service size in UPFs will significantly improve the nutritional quality of the Western diet.

The role of cholesterol oxidation products in food toxicity.

Food consumption can lead to the accumulation of certain chemical compounds able to exert toxic activities against humans. Of mayor interests are those molecules generated during food processing and handling, since their occurrence and distribution depend of many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Cholesterol - a lipid constituent of mammalian cells - is the precursor of several toxic molecules known as cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). In the last decades, it has been demonstrated that food processing can dramatically trigger COPs accumulation in meats, eggs, dairy products, fish and poultry. On the other hand, countless scientific evidences have pointed out the highly toxic and pathogenic activities of COPs, from cancer stimulation to neurodegenerative disorders, via molecular mechanisms that are largely unexplored. The aim of this review is to merge the evidence on COPs accumulation in foods and their toxic activities through dietary intake, as from in vivo and in vitro studies. We consider that it is imperative to systematically monitor the formation of COPs to bridge these quantitative efforts with a risk exposure assessment on sensitive populations.