Habitual polyphenol intake of foods according to NOVA classification: implications of ultra-processed foods intake (CUME study)

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the intake of dietary total polyphenols and their classes according to NOVA classification among adults of a Brazilian cohort study. This is a cross-sectional study, in which food consumption was assessed using an Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and polyphenol content (total and their classes) was estimated at Phenol-Explorer for each food category and presented as mean and 95% confidence interval. Adjusted linear regression was used to describe the trend of the association between the quintiles of polyphenols intake (dependent variable) and NOVA group of food consumption (independent variable). The higher consumption of fresh/minimally processed foods is accompanied by a higher intake of total polyphenols and all their classes, while the higher consumption of ultra-processed foods represented the lower intake of total polyphenols and their classes. Fresh foods are the greatest sources of polyphenols, and their daily consumption should be encouraged, while ultra-processed foods are deficient in such bioactive compounds.

GRAPHICAL ABTSRACT

Keywords:

• Food consumption
• phenolic compounds
• NOVA classification
• fresh/minimally processed foods
• processed foods
• ultra-processed foods

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Cohort of Universities of Minas Gerais and the Grupo de Pesquisa e Ensino em Nutrição e Saúde Coletiva for their support and encouragement.

Author contributions

Hillary Nascimento Coletro – analysis and interpretation of data, and writing and review of the paper; Josefina Bressan – coordination of cohort CUME, management of financial resources, data interpretation and review of the paper; Amanda Popolino Diniz – analysis of data and review of the paper; Helen Hermana Miranda Hermsdorff – coordination of cohort CUME, management of financial resources, data interpretation and review of the paper; Adriano Marçal Pimenta – coordination of cohort CUME, management of financial resources, data interpretation and review of the paper; Adriana Lúcia Meireles – analysis of data and review of the paper; Raquel de Deus Mendonça – coordination of the present study, design study, data analysis and interpretation, and review of the paper; Júlia Cristina Cardoso Carraro – coordination of the present study, design study, data analysis and interpretation, and review of the paper.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

The authors declare that all data are available upon previous request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are thankful for the funding by Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG (CDS-APQ-00571/13, CDS-APQ-02407/16, CDS-APQ-00424/17 and CDS-APQ-03008/18)).