Eating ultra-processed foods can affect your memory

One of the major health problems that people face in old age is dementia. In Spain, for example, this prevalence 11.1% for women and 7.5% for men. may have a high genetic component, but other factors also influence, as disparate as what we take or what we eat. In this last paragraph, the key value for the percentage overworked which we include in our diet. In fact, they seem to have a significant effect on memory loss.

At least that’s the conclusion of a study recently published in neurology and presented at the Alzheimer’s International Congress in San Diego. Its authors, from Tianjin Medical University, in China, were based on data from the United Kingdom’s Biobank, which includes health information for half a million people. Of course they only focused on the records 72,083 people aged 50 and over.

They were all surveyed about their eating habits and later followed up within 10 years. None had dementia at the start of the study. However, after this time 518 people have been diagnosed. With this information in hand, they tested whether there was an association with the consumption of ultra-processed foods, and the truth is that yes, they found a correlation. Of course, they did not find an explanation for how these products can impair memory and cognition. They just found an association.

What are ultra-processed foods?

Before seeing how ultra-processed foods affect memory and knowledgeIt is worth remembering what these products consist of.

Before talking about ultra-processed foods, it is important to know what processed foods are. There are many ways to describe these products. Some are based on quantity of ingredientswhile others refer more to ability to distinguish from each other. So chocolate cake is a processed food because we don’t see the sugar, butter, flour, or ounces of chocolate it contains. On the other hand, the pot of vegetables is not processed because we see each of them separately.

that food is being processed doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not healthy. For example, in a pot of gazpacho we see no tomato, no cucumber, no onion, no pepper. However, if the amount of salt is not excessive and a good oil such as olive oil is used, it will be a perfectly healthy product.

Now, ultra-processed foods are defined as those that not only have a high level of processing; but also contain many harmful ingredients. This includes, among other things, large amounts of saturated fats, sugars, or salt. Also, they usually use refined flour instead of whole flour.

It is important to understand that These are the ingredients, not the industry, the ones that turn ultra-processed food into something unhealthy. A homemade cake is still ultra-processed even if white sugar is replaced with date paste, which is still sugar after all.

Now that that’s clear, what do ultraprocessed foods have to do with memory and dementia?

Poor nutrition can affect your memory as you get older

The authors of this study divided their participants into several groups based on average percentage ultra-treated what contained his diet.

In the lowest group, the percentage 9%which would be equivalent 225 grams in a day. Meanwhile, at the top are products that have undergone deep processing. 28% volunteer diet. This is equivalent to approximately 814 grams.

To get an idea, a piece of pizza or fish sticks weighs approximately 150 grams. noteworthy beveragesfollowed by sugary foods and ultra-processed dairy desserts were the foods that contributed the most to this unhealthy part of the diet.

Regarding its association with cognitive and memory impairment, it was observed that out of 18,021 members of the first group, 105 were diagnosed with dementiawhile of the 18,021 people who consumed more highly processed foods, that number rose to 150 people.

It is logical to assume that other factors such as gender, age, family history or heart disease also play a role. For this reason, these factors were taken into account before determining the percentage of the exact impact of the consumption of ultra-processed foods. After making this adjustment, it was concluded that for each 10% increase in the daily consumption of ultra-processed foods, people had 25% increased risk of dementia.

Small changes, big results

Using the data from the study, these scientists were also able to estimate what would happen if one person replaced 10% off your consumption of ultra-processed foods for minimally processed foods or what is known as well processed. In this case, a 19% reduction in the risk of dementia was found.

Also, if something as simple as increasing the number of raw files in 50 grams per day, a 3% reduction in the risk of dementia would be obtained. It’s equal to half an appleso it’s not an impossible task.

And in the opposite direction, too, there were results. In other words, cutting out 50 grams of ultra-processed foods from your diet every day is equivalent to one fish stickthe risk is also reduced by 3%.

At this stage, there are several things to consider. To begin with, the study considered as dementia only those cases that ended death or what they required hospitalization. Primary health care information was not analyzed, so cases of mild dementia may have been underestimated. Finally, it is important to remember that correlation does not mean causation, so this association does not necessarily mean that ultraprocessors affect memory. But the correlation is large enough to consider it possible and explore further.

It has been more than proven that a diet rich in refined flours, sugar, salt and saturated fats and poor in whole grains, quality proteins, fruits and vegetables leads to many health problems. We shouldn’t get hung up on overworked. We just have to try to find a balance, eat what we want, but always with maximum information, trying to find a healthy diet, without miracle diets and, above all, without guilt. Despite the fact that we already have a lot of cattle. We must not forget that stress affects memory, and few things can cause more stress than a diet that imposes and blames. Let’s remember this too.