Eating highly processed food could up your risk of dementia, scientists warn | The Sun

EATING highly processed foods could put you at risk of cognitive decline, experts have warned.

Cognitive decline or impairment is a condition whereby someone will struggle with their memory or thinking.

In the UK it's estimated that up to 20 per cent of people suffer with this, Alzheimer's UK states.

While cognitive decline doesn't always mean you have dementia, the charity said that a person with the condition is more likely to go on to develop it.

Previous studies have linked ultra processed foods to issues such as cardiovascular disease and obesity.

But the experts in Brazil said that little is known about the association with cognitive issues.

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The researchers said that healthy eating habits have been linked to increased brain volume and decreased risk of cognitive decline over time.

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) refers to items such as pizza, ham, sausages, crips and biscuits.

The experts found that those who got a 'higher percentage' of their daily energy from these types of foods were more likely to suffer with cognitive decline in a eight year period.

Study author, Prof Natalia Gomes Gonçalves said: "Despite the small effect size of the association between UPF consumption and cognitive decline, our findings are meaningful to cognitive health.

"Limiting UPF consumption, particularly in middle-aged adults, may be an efficient form to prevent cognitive decline."

Writing in JAMA Neurology, the experts said they analysed data in waves.

This was between 2008 to 2017 and 2021 to May 2022.

The experts explained that age was a factor adding that those younger than 60, with a UPF consumption greater that 19.9 per cent showed 'a faster cognitive decline compared to those with less than 19.9 per cent'.

What is dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella terms, used to describe the deterioration of a person’s brain function.

Dementia is when mental deterioration is severe enough to interfere with someone's daily life.

It causes problems with thinking, reasoning and memory – as these are the areas in the brain that become damaged by the disease.

There are currently 944,000 people with dementia in the UK, more than ever before, and this number is projected to increase, says Alzheimer's Research UK.

But many more have not yet received a diagnosis, and don't know they are living with the illness.

There are lots of different types of dementia, with each one associated with a particular type of brain cell damage.

Dementia can be split into two main groups, but some conditions fall into both categories:

• Cortical, which causes severe memory loss (like that seen in Alzheimer's).
• Sub-cortical, which affects thinking speed and activity (as seen with Parkinson's disease).

The other most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer's, is vascular dementia. Both are rare in young people aged under 65 years old.

This refers to the percentage of daily calories taken up by this food group.

The experts added that they declined 28 per cent faster than those who did not eat lots of UPFs.

"Additionally, the percentage of daily energy from UPF was associated with cognitive decline in participants with a low healthy diet score, whereas there was no association in those with a high healthy diet score," the experts added.

A study published in June 2022 also found that ultra-processed foods can significantly increase your risk of developing dementia.

As part of the study, researchers followed the dietary habits of 72,083 people from the UK over the age of 55 for 10 years.

At the start of the study none of the participants had dementia.

However, by the end of the 10 years 518 people had been diagnosed with the cognitive disease.

Participants who had eaten more ultra-processed food per day over the 10 year period had a higher chance of developing dementia than those who had eaten less, the study revealed.

Researchers found that for every 10 per cent increase in someone's daily intake of ultra-processed foods, they had a 25 per cent higher risk of dementia.

However, experts have said processed foods might not be the problem.

Dr Duane Mellor, Registered Dietitian and Senior Teaching Fellow, Aston Medical School, Aston University said: "It may be more the case they were eating less minimalist processed foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses.

"So, it does not really change how we should try to eat to maintain good brain function and cognition, as we should try to eat less foods which are high in added sugar, salt and fat (which would includes many of the foods classified as being ultra processed) while eating more in terms of both quantity and variety of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses which are known to be beneficial for both our cognitive and overall health.”

Prof Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Reading added that diet is one of several factors that can affect cognitive function.

"It is important to understand the relationship in order to make recommendations.

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"However, such recommendations need to be based on robust data, taking into consideration risks and benefits and further implications, for example the cost of different foods and the respective impact on health.

"The current study does not provide strong evidence for a relationship between estimated ultra-processed food intake and cognitive function," Prof Kuhnle said.

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