A Diet of Ultra-Processed Foods Is Associated with Increased… : Neurology Today

Article In Brief

An analysis of a large epidemiologic study found an association between an unhealthy diet of ultra-processed foods and the risk of dementia; replacing or substituting healthy foods was associated with a reduction in that risk.

People who eat a diet high in ultra-processed foods are at a significantly higher risk of developing dementia and vascular dementia, according to a large epidemiologic study published in the July 22 online edition of Neurology.

The prospective study was based on analysis of data from a large cohort of over 72,000 people who consumed a diet with a higher level of ultra-processed foods.

“Our results suggest that shifting toward lower ultra-processed foods consumption and a higher intake of unprocessed or minimally processed foods may help to prevent dementia,” said the senior author of the study Yaogang Wang, PhD, of the School of Public Health at Tianjin Medical University in China.

Replacing just a small percentage of these foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods—for example, replacing the equivalent of a chocolate bar with half an apple or serving of corn—can lower the risk of dementia and vascular dementia, he said.

The study adds to the growing evidence of the deleterious health effects associated with consuming ultra-processed foods, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and all-cause mortality, they said, and is the first to estimate the impact on dementia risk of replacing ultra-processed food with…