- Posted March 18, 2026
Ultra-Processed Foods Linked To Heart Attack, Stroke, Cardiac Arrest
Munching down loads of ultra-processed foods can increase your risk of suffering or dying from a heart attack, stroke or heart disease, a new study says.
Each additional daily serving of ultra-processed foods increases a person’s risk of a major cardiac event by 5%, researchers reported March 17 in the journal JACC Advances.
People who eat an average of more than nine servings of ultra-processed foods daily have a 67% increased risk of a heart attack, stroke or cardiac arrest, researchers found.
“Ultra-processed foods are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, and while many of these products may seem like convenient on-the-go meal or snack options, our findings suggest they should be consumed in moderation,” lead researcher Dr. Amier Haidar, a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, said in a news release.
Ultra-processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from whole foods, like saturated fats, starches and added sugars. They also contain a wide variety of additives to make them more tasty, attractive and shelf-stable.
Examples include packaged baked goods, sugary cereals, ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat products and deli cold cuts.
For the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 6,800 adults participating in a long-term study of heart disease caused by clogged arteries. The participants filled out food questionnaires, from which researchers assessed their daily intake of ultra-processed foods.
People in the highest 20% for ultra-processed food intake consumed more than nine servings a day on average, while people in the lowest 20% ate about one serving a day.
Those who ate the most ultra-processed foods were 67% more likely to die from heart disease or stroke, or to experience a non-fatal heart attack, stroke or cardiac arrest.
“We controlled for a lot of factors in this study,” Haidar said. “Regardless of the amount of calories you consumed per day, regardless of the overall quality of your diet, and after controlling for common risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, the risk associated with higher ultra-processed food intake was still about the same.”
Overall, each additional serving of ultra-processed foods was associated with a 5% increased risk of cardiac events.
The link was even more powerful among Black Americans, researchers found. Each additional serving brought Black people a 6% increased risk, compared with a 3% increased risk for non-Black people.
The study could not say why ultra-processed foods increase heart risk, but previous studies have shown that they contain loads of calories and lots of sugars, salt and fats. These could prompt people to overeat, driving weight gain, inflammation and buildup of fat in the body, researchers said.
Haider is scheduled to present the study findings March 28 at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.
More information
The University of Alabama-Birmingham has more on ultra-processed foods and heart health.
SOURCE: American College of Cardiology, news release, March 17, 2026
