You eat pretty well most of the time. So why should you worry? Because new research out of Australia found something surprising: even mostly healthy eaters aren’t immune to the brain effects of even small amounts of ultraprocessed foods. Rally breaks down what UPFs actually are, and what the latest science now says about junk food and cognitive health. Before you pick up those chips, play this episode!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Rally:
Hello there, Beautiful People — Rally Preston here – you’re seventy-year-old host of the Silver Beast Podcast.
Hey, quick show of hands. How many of you think you eat pretty healthy?
Oh wow…pretty much all of you!
Well, that’s what I thought – you keep it healthy for the most part. Watching what you eat. Good for you!
And me too – pretty much – my wife sees to that. But when she’s not looking…that could be another story.
Well… here’s a reality check for me…and maybe you too.
It turns out, there might be some things in our kitchens or pantries that could be doing a real number on our brains — no matter how healthy we think we’re eating right now.
So first, a little setup here…and then we’ll connect all the dots.
So, ultraprocessed foods – you know what I immediately think of? MacDonalds. And of course, fast food in general. That’s ultraprocessed foods to me. UPFs if you want to use the hip acronym, and of course we do. But of course, UPFs are more than that…
So basically, ultraprocessed foods are products loaded with industrial ingredients. Most of this stuff was never in Grandma’s kitchen. Things like artificial flavors, emulsifiers, sweeteners, thickeners, hydrogenated oil, preservatives — and it just goes on…UPFs are like a whole chemistry set, basically, dressed up as food.
And for those of us who would never think of hitting a fast food drive-thru, well we’re still bringing this stuff home. So think: packaged snack crackers. Frozen dinners. Soft drinks. Breakfast cereals with cartoon characters. Hot dogs. Chips. Cookies…
Alright, that’s ultraprocessed foods.
Now, according to the Centers for Disease Control, American adults get more than half of their daily calories from ultraprocessed foods. Over fifty percent every single day.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking nah… that’s not possible, not me.
I mean, I eat salads a lot. And some of you do the Mediterranean Diet. We take our vitamins…
Ok, but hold that thought for a second.
…The people in this new study I’m going to tell you about… they were eating healthy too…
So listen to this…researchers at Monash University in Australia. They studied over 2,000 adults between 40 and 70. All dementia-free going in. The researchers compared their diets to their cognitive function.
Here’s what they found…
Every ten percent increase in ultraprocessed foods consumed — we’re talking roughly one bag of chips a day — just that little bit was linked to lower attention scores and higher dementia risk.
Oh, and this gets better…
Just that 10% bump in UPF consumption – that was enough to potentially cause brain problems for people who – and here’s the important distinction here – people who were otherwise following healthy diets.
Think about that.
If these overall healthy eaters were also snacking on a little processed junk on the side…and it still showed up negatively in their brain health.
So, oh boy, suddenly that little bit of ultraprocessed food, doesn’t seem so small anymore, does it?
And the lead researcher put it this way: Food processing itself appears to be a distinct contributor to worse cognitive outcomes. It doesn’t get canceled out by the healthy stuff. It’s its own problem.
Yikes!
Now — just so you’re getting the full picture here — this particular study was a snapshot in time. And the diets were self-reported. So the researchers are careful to say this finding isn’t 100% definitive.
But, this isn’t the only study to look at this…
There’s a similar one that again shows that just a 10% bump in ultraprocessed food intake raised the risk of cognitive impairment by 16% — even among people eating a mostly plant-based diet.
OK… and another large study from 2022 found that people eating the most ultraprocessed foods had a 25% faster rate of cognitive decline.
So different studies here, same basic pattern: UPFs are bad news…even in what seems like pretty small amounts.
So, what exactly are ultraprocessed foods doing to us?
Well, they can cause inflammation in your body. They mess around with blood sugar. And they can reduce blood flow to the brain.
Plus…they introduce additives and processing chemicals that researchers think may have a direct impact on cognition over time.
Yeah..and I saw this from Dr. Daniel Amen psychiatrist, brain specialist, founder of Amen Clinics. He puts it this way, and I quote: Your brain is an energy-hungry organ. It burns about 20% of the calories you consume. So the quality of those calories matters enormously.
And he didn’t stop there…he goes on to say food is either medicine or poison. Okay, no gray area there I guess.
Which makes you look at that bag of Doritos a little differently, right?
And researchers also found that a 10% increase in ultraprocessed food consumption was tied to a measurable decline in attention.
Now here’s why that’s important…
Your attention, you know your focus…that’s where it all starts. It affects your learning, memory, decision-making, problem-solving. You know, if you can’t focus well — give your full attention to something – well, none of the rest of what you’ve got going on is going to work as well as it should.
OK. Well is there any good news here?
Yes there is…
The same research shows that if you can at least cut back on eating ultraprocessed foods — and replace the Doritos or whatever, with more whole, minimally processed foods — over time, you can lower your cognitive decline risk by around twelve percent. So that’s something…that’s good.
Alright, let’s do something about this and rescue our brains…
I got some quick, anti-ultraprocessed food action steps for you here…
Alright, Action Step One: Learn to spot UPFs.
Most of you know this I’m sure. But first step is to read the ingredient label. If it’s got more than five ingredients, or you can’t pronounce half of what’s in there — it’s probably ultraprocessed food. Now that’s not a hard-and-fast rule – but it’s a good place to start.
Alright Step Two: The one-a-day swap.
So this one’s pretty easy. Just swap out one ultraprocessed food per day with something real. And I’ll tell you what I do…when I want chips, I grab a handful of mixed nuts. Then I go back for another handful…that’s my downfall. But I got the basic idea right.
Alright what else? Swap a diet soda for sparkling water, squeeze some lime or lemon in there. Instead of packaged cookies, try some berries. You get the idea. Swap out one not-so-good thing for one better thing.
OK, Step Three: Consider the MIND diet – that’s M-I-N-D diet.
This is a new one for me. But one study actually found the best cognitive results were in people following something called the MIND diet — it’s a sort of hybrid of the Mediterranean diet – that’s the heart-healthy one – and the DASH diet – and that one focuses on controlling blood pressure. So this matchup zeroes in on leafy greens, berries, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, and fish. If you really stick to it, no cheating, it can cut the risk of Alzheimer’s in half…that’s what the studies say. That’s the MIND diet…you might want to check it out.
Step Four: Don’t let those UPFs slip by you.
If you already eat pretty well like I thought I did — well great! You’re on the right track…but you’ve got to keep an eye out for what’s sneaking in. So that afternoon snack. The packaged crackers with the soup. Breakfast cereal. Those little add-ons…like we said, that little 10 percent of UPFs can easily slip right by you…and that might add up to a bigger problem.
Alright…Here is the bottom line, Silver Beasties.
I’m sure you work hard to keep your body in good shape. Hopefully, you exercise. Maybe you watch your portions. You get your healthy fat from olive oil – you do all kinds of things like that.
Well after this episode, I’m going to be more careful. Not kid myself that potato chips or whatever won’t hurt.
The studies say you don’t really don’t get a free pass on ultraprocessed foods…even if you eat healthy most of the time. Yeah, it looks like there’s a price to pay.
And just a quick note: I am not a doctor. Get your medical advice from a professional. You know, what I’m doing here is just my best to hunt down the latest research and share it with you. So be sure and talk to your doc or a registered dietitian before making major changes to your diet.
Alright, this is Rally Preston. Hey, don’t let those UPFs sneak up on you. Check the labels and do your best to stick to real food.
Your brain will thank you…and, you’ll make grandma proud too.
Alright, I will catch you next time right here on the Silver Beast Podcast.
Take care!