Ultra-processsed foods associated with cognitive impairment: STUDY

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Eating ultra-processed foods is associated with but doesn’t necessarily cause an elevated risk of cognitive impairment, a new study published in the medical journal Neurology has found.

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Ultra-processed foods — including soft drinks, salty and sugary snacks, ice cream, packaged breads and flavoured cereals — have high sugar, fat and salt levels and are low in protein and fibre.

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Unprocessed foods include beef, pork and chicken, vegetables and fruits.

Researchers followed more than 30,000 people age 45 or older for an average of 11 years with participants filling out questionnaires about what they ate and drank.

How much ultra-processed food people ate daily was determined by calculating the grams and coming up with a percentage compared to the grams per day of other foods they ate.

The percentage was calculated into four groups ranging from the least-processed foods to the most-processed foods and researchers looked at 14,175 participants for cognitive decline and 20,243 participants for stroke with neither group having a history of either.

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By the end of the study, 768 people were diagnosed with cognitive impairment and 1,108 people had a stroke.

In the cognitive group, people who developed memory and thinking problems ate a diet consisting of 25.8% of ultra-processed foods compared to 24.6% for those who did not develop cognitive problems.

Researchers found a 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods eaten was associated with a 16% higher risk of cognitive impairment after making adjustments for age, sex, high blood pressure, and factors that could increase risk of dementia.

They also found that eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods was linked with a 12% lower risk of cognitive impairment.

For those in the stroke group, people who had a stroke during the study consumed 25.4% of ultra-processed foods in their diet compared to 25.1% for those who did not have a stroke.

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After adjustments, researchers found more ultra-processed foods was linked to an 8% increase in risk of stroke, while more of unprocessed or minimally processed foods was linked to a 9% decreased risk of stroke.

The stroke risk for eating ultra-processed foods was even greater among Black participants with a 15% increase in risk of stroke.

However, the study only included those who self-identified as Black or white so results don’t apply to people from other populations.

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