PAMPs in your processed food

First of all, maybe it would be a good idea to identify what are processed foods.  Processed foods are anything that has been treated, chopped, minced and/or had ingredients added to them.  Think minced meat (even if it is just that...), ready- prepared ingredients such as pre-chopped onions, or bagged lettuce.  Processed foods does not JUST apply but does include, sausages, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc..

Unprocessed foods are; steak, whole fish, untouched foods such as onions, leeks, tomatoes, cabbage, etc..

So, what is wrong with minced meat, ready-chopped onion, etc???  Well, a group of molecules called Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).

These molecules are undetectable in fresh foods, but are abundant in junk food, processed foods, pasta sauces and sandwiches.  It is believed that these PAMPs grow during the manufacturing process where the foods are chopped and refrigerated.

These PAMPs are believed to increase the risk of conditions such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, causing our immune systems to overreact and therefore damaging our health.

Scientists at the University of Leicester have tested the effects of a low PAMP diet and have compared it to lowering a person's risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 15%.  Dr. Clett Erridge, the lead researcher has said;

"It has been understood for many years that frequent consumption of highly processed
foods, particularly processed meats, is associated with increased risk of developing a range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity."

Dr. Erridge and his team have discovered the mechanism by which processed foods increase the risk of developing these diseases.  They have discovered that the molecules that contaminate processed foods arise from the overgrowth of a specific type of bacteria during the refrigeration or food manufacturing process.

"These can cause our immune systems to overreact in a manner that might be damaging to health when we eat foods containing these molecules," Dr. Erridge said.

The researchers tested volunteers on a diet low in PAMPs for 1 week, the result was that the diet had vast beneficial effects on the health of the volunteers.  First of all their white blood cell count decreased by 11% - a high white blood cell count can indicate other problems such as infection, stress, inflammation, trauma, allergy, or indicate certain diseases.

Secondly their LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) was reduced by 18%.  The volunteers also lost an average of 0.6kg in weight and 1.5cm from their waist circumference in just 1 week.

The reductions in waist circumference and the decrease in the white cell count are equivalent to lowering their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 15%.

The researchers believe that by testing the levels of PAMPs in foods during processing could help manufacturers discover during which part of the process the PAMP molecules are arising and therefore be able to eliminate them:

"Crucially, we have found that some processed foods do not contain these molecules, and our results suggest it should be possible to manufacture almost any current food in a manner that results in a low content of harmful PAMP molecules," said Dr. Erridge

Removing the molecules from food could make foods healthier without changing the taste, texture, cost or ingredients.  So, could there be a "healthy" future for junk and processed foods?

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com