The headline draws conclusions only very tenuously supported in the body: >The study, published in the British Medical Journal, does not prove that ultra-proce

The headline draws conclusions only very tenuously supported in the body: >The study, published in the British Medical Journal, does not prove that ultra-processed foods cause disease. Nor does the effect appear particularly large, even in the most enthusiastic junk food consumers. >Touvier said it was unclear how ultra-processed foods may harm health. Even when its poor nutritional value is taken into account, consumption is still linked to more disease and death, she said. One suspicion is that it displaces healthier, more nutritious foods, but additives and perhaps contaminants from processing and packaging may play a role too. The researchers don't substantiate the cause of "heavily processed foods" being linked to early death at all; if they're not even sure if it's the content of processed foods or just bad diets, it's total fearmongering.