- New research suggests there may be a link between highly processed foods, stroke and cognitive decline.
- Highly processed foods include potato chips and many frozen foods.
- Experts say the next step is further research to explain the link in more detail and find out which foods pose the greatest risk.
- New research published in the journal Neurology reports a link between regular consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of cognitive decline and stroke.
The study was based on data from two cohorts, 14,175 people in the cognitive decline group and 20,243 people in the stroke group. All study participants were 45 years or older.
PhD. Gary Small, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack Meridian Health and a former longtime faculty member at UCLA, said the study is not surprising from a brain health perspective.
“We know that certain types of foods, especially processed foods and highly processed foods, are bad for your heart. But they’re also bad for your brain,” Small, who was not involved in the study, told Healthline.
After determining the role of other factors such as age and blood pressure, the researchers reported that a 10 percent increase in the amount of highly processed foods participants reported could be associated with a 16 percent increase in the risk of cognitive impairment.
When it comes to stroke, people who eat more ultra-processed foods have an 8 percent increased risk. For those who ate more unprocessed or minimally processed foods, the risk was reduced by 9 percent. Some examples of minimally processed foods are fruits and legumes. In such studies, foods are divided into four groups using a system called NOVA.
PhD. W. Taylor Kimberly, one of the researchers involved in the study, said the results have important implications for further research.
“While a healthy diet is important for maintaining brain health in older adults, the dietary habits that are most important for the brain remain unclear,” Kimberly said in a statement. “We found that increased intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with stroke and were associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment, and the association between ultra-processed foods and stroke was greater among black participants.”
Black participants had a 15 percent increased risk of stroke.
Ultra-processed foods and cognitive decline, stroke
The study used multiple memory tests, and some participants were interviewed at home. Those who self-reported having dementia were excluded, as were participants who had symptoms of dementia or depression or who had experienced a head injury.
During the study’s 11-year follow-up period, 1,108 strokes and 768 cases of cognitive impairment were reported.
To assess participants’ food consumption, the researchers used a food questionnaire. A score was also calculated that linked participants’ eating habits to a range of diets targeting stroke and neurological function. These include the Mediterranean diet, the Dietary Approaches to Control Hypertension (DASH), and the Mediterranean DASH intervention to delay neurodegeneration.
PhD. Clifford Segil, a neuroscientist at St. John’s Health Center in Providence, Calif., who was not involved in the study, said he hopes the study will help people better understand a diet high in highly processed foods. How it affects people with different illnesses. dementia.
“I would like to see this group of researchers work with a cognitive behavioral neurologist, or a neurologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating patients with memory loss, to study a group of stroke and cognitive impairment patients to determine whether it makes sense to eat highly processed foods” is associated with an increase in vascular dementia or multi-infarct dementia,” Segil told HealthLine.
More research needed on unhealthy diet and brain health
Researchers including Kimberly noted that further research is needed to clarify the link.
“Our findings suggest that the level of food processing plays an important role in overall brain health,” Kimberly said. “Further research is needed to confirm these results and better understand which food or processed ingredients contribute most to these effects.”
Small agrees with researchers that studying possible links between eating habits, stroke and cognitive impairment can be difficult, especially when it comes to diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
“When you take people for autopsies and look at their brains, in most cases it’s not just Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. “They have these little strokes in their brain. They may show evidence of head trauma. So, there can be a lot of problems going on in the brain. The positive thing about strokes is there’s a lot you can do about it.”
The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says these risk-reducing factors may include parts of your diet, such as the amount of salt you eat, but may also include regular exercise and medications.
Small said the good news from this study is that it can be implemented while waiting for the results of future studies.
“Look, if you live a brain-healthy lifestyle, it’s going to help your heart, it’s going to help many aspects of your health,” he said. “I wouldn’t wait 20 years to see the final research results because there’s a lot of evidence that it’s good for your health and your mood. I can always say how important it is for quality of life. You’ll feel better now. And live better, longer.”