According to a study, overly processed frozen pizza, ready meals, chips or sauces purchased from the supermarket are as addictive as cigarettes.

Almost all of us buy and consume ready-made soups, sauces, frozen pizzas, ready-made meals, chips, donuts and many more from time to time. However, scientists state that these overly processed products are not only unhealthy, but also carry the risk of addiction, like smokers’ addiction to tobacco.

Individuals with limited time, especially working people, prefer to throw overly processed, industrial foods into the basket while shopping. According to experts, due to this trend, almost 80 percent of supermarket shelves are filled with ultra-processed foods.

Antwerpen University Hospital (UZA) chief dietitian Michaël Sels explains what ultra-processed foods are in the VRT NWS Laat program in which he participated as a guest: “For example, tomatoes; When you buy it from the farm or supermarket it is an unprocessed tomato. You can make some manipulations to this tomato. For example, you can dry it. This would be a lightly processed tomato. But if you make a sauce from it, you have to add many things like oil, salt. The next step is ultra-processed food, such as tomato ketchup. Coloring agents, preservatives and sweeteners have been added to this product.”

Signs of addiction observed

An analysis conducted by scientists on 281 previous studies in 36 countries was published in the BMJ medical journal. All this information from the studies was evaluated according to the Yale Food Addiction Scale, a standardized questionnaire designed in 2009 to accurately assess signals of compulsive eating.

According to the results, 14 percent of adults and 12 percent of children score high on symptoms of addiction to ultra-processed foods.

According to the study, overly processed foods are as addictive as cigarettes.

While Sels notes that ultra-processed foods contain a combination of substances that “make them tempting,” he says, “Sugar, carbohydrates and fat are things we really innately love. It causes our brain to release dopamine, so when we eat it we feel very happy, but then we experience a slump. Therefore, we seek a dopamine rush again and thus turn to overly processed foods. “Buying these products starts to become more attractive every time,” he said.
Stating that it is not necessary to completely eliminate all carbohydrates or fats from our lives, Selms recommended that, for example, when shopping at the supermarket, prefer the homemade version of a product, which is a better alternative, instead of the overly processed version.

Excessive consumption of these products increases health problems

Two studies, the results of which were published in the British medical journal “The British Medical Journal” in 2022, emphasized that excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods carries the risk of serious illness. Research in the USA found that excessive consumption of these products significantly increases the risk of colon cancer. A study conducted in Italy revealed that it causes heart disease and premature death.

Do you know the emergency numbers of a country especially when you come on holiday? What are the emergency numbers for the Netherlands, what to do and important information;

☎️ Speed dial 112 for emergency services. Usually answered within 3 seconds.

☎️ You should call 0900-8844 for non-emergency police assistance in the Netherlands.

☎️ The concept of emergency is very different in our country, the people who pass the emergency here are traffic accidents, serious injuries and very high fever and not going down with any medicine for a long time. If you call an ambulance except in a vital situation, there is a penalty for being busy for nothing.

☎️ You should go to the home doctor of your place first, it is called “Huisarts”. For non-emergency medical assistance, call Huisarts in your area.

☎️ You can check ZorgkaartNederland.nl to reach the general practitioner or home doctor in your area.

☎️ Let’s say there is a very urgent situation outside of working hours, then you are looking for the doctor on duty. There may be extra costs when you go here, but the importance of health insurance comes into play here, your insurance will probably cover it.

☎️ Hospitals you can go to in an emergency in Amsterdam;
OLVG 
https://www.olvg.nl/
UMC
https://www.amc.nl

☎️In case of being attacked or raped, you can get help from the Sexual Violence Center. The center is open both during the day and at night. Call 0800-0188. The website is supported in Dutch and English, but you can use the translation button on the website that immediately translates the page to your local language. Help is free.

☎️ SlachtofferWijzer.nl is a site for victims of violence (sexual), traffic accidents, thefts and the disappeared.

☎️Call 0900-0101 from the Netherlands to report a crime to the police. You can also call 116-006 if your provider does not accept this number.

More than 160,000 young people aged 18 to 27 have made an appointment for the HPV vaccine since January.

This is a vaccine against the virus that can cause cancer of the cervix, as well as cancer of the mouth and throat, penis, anus, and vagina.

In January, on the recommendation of the Health Council, the RIVM began vaccinating young people in this age group. This year, two vaccines are given free of charge. Normally it costs around 400 Euros.

This age group includes more than 1.2 million young people. RIVM says it’s urgent. There should be at least five months between the first and second vaccination. This Saturday, teens can come to one of 45 GGD locations without an appointment to get their first injection.

Since 2010, girls can get the HPV vaccine when they reach the age of 10, and boys since last year. Boys and girls aged 10 to 18 who have not yet had an injection will receive an appointment letter from youth health services.