A healthy diet containing just 10% ultra-processed foods may increase the risk of cognitive decline and stroke

CNN
—

Eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and stroke, even if a person tries to adhere to a Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet or the MIND diet, according to a new study .

All three diets are plant-based and aim to eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, while limiting sugar, red meat and ultra-processed foods.

“If you increased your intake of ultra-processed foods by 10% in the study, it increased your risk of cognitive impairment by 16%,” said cardiologist Dr Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness. at National Jewish Health in Denver. He did not participate in the study.

“You can always extrapolate and say, ‘Well, if someone increases their consumption of ultra-processed foods by 100 percent, then they have a 160 percent chance of experiencing cognitive impairment,'” he said. . “Of course, this study can only show an association, not a direct cause and effect.”

On the other hand, eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of cognitive impairment, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology.

Unprocessed foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and milk. Minimally processed foods include culinary ingredients such as salt, herbs and oils, as well as foods such as canned goods and frozen vegetables that combine culinary ingredients with unprocessed foods.

Ultraprocessed foods include prepackaged soups, sauces, frozen pizzas, ready-to-eat meals, and indulgent foods such as hot dogs, sausages, fries, sodas, store-bought cookies, cakes, sweets, donuts, ice cream and much more.

These foods are typically high in calories, added sugar and salt, and low in fiber, which can contribute to cardiometabolic health problems, weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, according to experts.

The study analyzed data from 30,000 people participating in the REGARD, or REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke, study, which was 50% white and 50% black in a nationally diverse group of people who were followed for up to 20 years.

The risk of stroke was 8% higher among people who added the most ultra-processed foods to their diet compared to those who ate minimally processed foods, said study author and neurologist, Dr. W. Taylor Kimberly, chief of the Division of Neurocritical Care in Massachusetts. Boston General Hospital.

This risk rises to 15% for black participants, likely due to the impact of ultra-processed foods on high blood pressure in this population, Kimberly said. However, if a person ate more unprocessed or minimally processed foods, the risk of stroke decreased by 9 percent, the study found.

What is it about ultra-processed foods that could allow them to sabotage efforts to follow a healthy diet? This could be due to their poor nutritional composition and tendency to raise blood sugar, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, Peipei Gao said. and Zhendong Mei in an editorial published with the study.

Mei is a medical researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, while Gao is a graduate student in nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, also in Boston. Neither were involved in the study.

Type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are all key risk factors for vascular diseases of the heart and brain, they wrote.

The impact on blood vessels that leads to stroke and cognitive decline may also be due to “the presence of additives, including emulsifiers, colors, sweeteners and nitrates/nitrites, which have been associated to disruptions in the gut microbial ecosystem and inflammation,” they said. added.

Studies on the dangers of consuming ultra-processed foods are increasing. According to a February review of 45 meta-analyses involving nearly 10 million people, eating 10% more ultra-processed foods increased the risk of developing or dying from dozens of adverse health problems.

This 10% increase was considered a “baseline,” and the addition of ultra-processed foods could increase the risk, experts say.

According to the study, there is strong evidence that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an approximately 50% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and common mental disorders.

The researchers also found highly suggestive evidence that eating more ultra-processed foods increased the risk of obesity by 55%, sleep disorders by 41%, the development of type 2 diabetes by 40%, and the risk depression of 20%.

“We really need to put a sign in the ultra-processed food aisle, or on the packaging, like we do on cigarettes, saying, ‘Be careful, this food may be harmful to your health.'” Freeman said.

“What we think of as ‘convenient food’ really needs to move from a packet of chips to an apple or carrot that are also shelf-stable and can travel in your purse or backpack,” he said. he declared. “And we need to make these kinds of things more easily accessible, especially to our children and in food deserts where often all the food available is ultra-processed. »