The terrifying reason you might want to reconsider eating ultra-processed food

Doctors have already warned us that ultra-processed foods not eaten in their natural form can increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, wheezing, depression, and sleep problems. Now there is a new problem that such food causes – stroke and memory/thinking problems. 

People who consume more ultra-processed foods may have a higher risk of having memory and thinking problems and having a stroke than those who eat fewer processed foods, according to a new study just published in the journal Neurology under the title “Associations between ultra-processed food consumption and adverse brain health outcomes.” 

Ultra-processed foods are high in added sugar, fat and salt, and low in protein and fiber. They include soft drinks, salty and sugary snacks, ice cream, hamburgers, canned baked beans, ketchup, mayonnaise, packaged bread and flavored cereals. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods include meats such as simple cuts of beef and chicken, and vegetables and fruits.

Maintaining brain health in older adults

The authors led by Dr. W. Taylor Kimberly of Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital didn’t prove that eating ultra-processed foods directly causes memory and thinking problems and stroke but an association.

“While a healthy diet is important in maintaining brain health among older adults, the most important dietary choices for your brain remain unclear,” said the study author. 

For the study, researchers looked at 30,239 people aged 45 or older who self-identified as Black or white. They were followed an average of 11 years. Of the total participants, researchers looked at 14,175 participants for cognitive decline and 20,243 participants for stroke. Both groups had no history of cognitive impairment or stroke.

Participants filled out questionnaires about what they ate and drank. Researchers determined how much ultra-processed food people ate by calculating the grams per day and comparing it to the grams per day of other foods to create a percentage of their daily diet. That percentage was calculated into four groups, ranging from the least processed foods to the most processed foods.

By the end of the study, 768 people were diagnosed with cognitive impairment, and 1,108 people had a stroke. For those in the cognitive group, people who developed memory and thinking problems consumed 25.8% of their diet in ultra-processed foods, compared to 24.6% for those who did not develop cognitive problems.

After adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, and other factors that could affect the risk of dementia, researchers found that a 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods eaten was associated with a 16% higher risk of cognitive impairment. They also found that eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods was linked with a 12% lower risk of cognitive impairment.

After adjustments, researchers found greater intake of ultra-processed foods was linked to an eight percent increase in the risk of stroke, while greater intake of unprocessed or minimally processed foods was linked to a nine percent lower risk of stroke.

“Our findings show that the degree of food processing plays an important role in overall brain health,” Kimberly said. “More research is needed to confirm these results and to better understand which food or processing components contribute most to these effects.”