A Spanish physician is generating international debate by pointing his finger at the daily consumption of a food that many consider harmless, but which, according to him, is responsible for millions of deaths every year. His words, said in one of the most heard podcasts in Spain, opened the discussion about the risks associated with certain eating habits.
José Abellán, a Spanish cardiologist with hundreds of thousands of followers on social networks, participated in the program “The Wild Project” on YouTube, where he left a warning that generated a strong reaction: he classified sugary drinks and the ultra -processed as a true “killer food”, stressing that this seemingly banal habit is linked to millions of deaths from serious diseases around the world.
According to the doctor, quoted by the Spanish portal La Razón, the last four decades have brought drastic changes in the global health. The cases of obesity have multiplied by seven and the main explanation is in the imbalance between what is ingested and what is spent on energy. This scenario was accelerated by the consumption of ultra -processed foods.
The impact of ultra -processed
These industrial products concentrate excess sugar, salt in large quantities, artificial additives and, at the same time, are poor in essential minerals such as magnesium or healthy fats, such as omega 3. For Abellán, the most severe effect is not only in nutrients, but in the way these foods move with the body’s satiety system.
The human body, explains the cardiologist, is prepared to recognize when he received enough calories. But when it comes to ultra -processed, this mechanism fails: the brain does not interpret well what you eat and the feeling of being satisfied comes later, leading to ingest much more than necessary.
“That’s why it’s so easy to lose control,” the doctor reinforces. Instead of natural foods that feed and satiate, they eventually master products that cause a vicious cycle of constant hunger, fat accumulation and chronic inflammation.
The example of the “space for dessert”
To illustrate the problem, José Abellán uses a family situation: “We have all been full and still get room for dessert.” This happens, he says, because intensely sweet flavors were, during evolution, a sign of rapid energy, something rare and valuable for survival.
Ultra-processed enjoy this biological “shortcut”, becoming irresistible and replacing fruits, vegetables or legumes that, on the contrary, provide satiety and protective nutrients to the heart. The result is an increasingly poorer diet, but loaded with empty calories.
The doctor stresses that this mechanism is not a detail. It is, according to him, at the Center for Cardiovascular and Oncological Diseases that reach millions of people in the world.
A call for public health care
The intervention of the cardiologist did not emerge isolated. Spanish universities and health entities were already highlighting the urgency of reducing ultra -processed. The difference is that Abelán put the theme even more directly: “Probably much of cardiovascular disease and cancer can be explained through them.”
The expert recalls that any nutrition guide that ignores this reality turns out to be incomplete. As much as it is spoken of balance or variety, without cutting into the consumption of industrial soft drinks and snacks, the risks remain high.
His statements aroused immediate echo on social networks. Many followers praised clarity, while others accused him of exaggerating. Still, the debate brought back the public agenda the issue of food as a preventive weapon against disease.
What changes in everyday life
For the cardiologist, the change does not adopt complicated diets or eliminate all the pleasure of the table. The essentials is to progressively reduce sugary drinks and more industrialized products, replacing them with simple options: fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and healthy fats such as olive oil or dry fruits.
This replacement helps the body to recover the natural satiety system, better control weight and decrease inflammation that are based on various pathologies. It is also a way of returning protagonism to traditional foods of the Mediterranean diet, widely recognized for its benefits.
According to the, the question that the doctor leaves in the air is clear: to what extent are we willing to exchange immediate convenience for more years of life with quality?
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