Do ultra-processed foods accelerate our cognitive decline?

Ultra-processed foods are an integral part of our diet. Their low nutritional values ​​and the additives and preservatives they contain lead scientists to question their impact on our health. A recent study questions the relationship between ultra-processed foods and cognitive decline. Do they make us less efficient?

The French plate is made up average 31% are ultra-processed foods. Economical and easy to cook, they have gradually established themselves in our daily life. Yet they have nutritional values Less attractive than raw or processed foods, and some of the ingredients needed to make them are suspected of being harmful to health.

A recent study published in Juma Neurology It shows that consuming ultra-processed foods can promote cognitive decline in middle-aged people. Potato Chips , cerealcereal For breakfast and other industrial hoops do they give us back Cake ? The decoding of this study was carried out in Brazil on 10,000 people.

Ultra-processed foods linked to cognitive decline?

Researchers at the Medical University of São Paulo have shown an association between ultra-processed foods and cognitive decline, not a causal relationship. Based on this post alone, it is impossible to conclude that ultra-processed foods are responsible for the cognitive decline seen in people who consume them.

Study participants were divided into four groups based on the proportion of ultra-processed foods on their plates. Results indicate that cognitive decline is slower in people who eat less than 20% of foodsUltra processed Daily. But the scientists noted cognitive decline for all groups at the end of the 10-year follow-up. Cognitive loss is a normal phenomenon that increases with age, and here the participants were an average of 50 years old at the start of the study. Thus, the contribution of ultra-processed foods to cognitive decline appears to be weak, or even nonexistent.

” The problem may not be that they ate more ultra-processed foods, but rather the fact that they ate lessminimally processed foods Such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes. So it doesn’t actually change how we need to eat to maintain good cognitive function, we need to try to eat fewer foods high in added sugars, salt and fat (which includes a lot of ultra-processed foods) while eating more vegetables and fruits and hazelnuthazelnut and legumes known for their benefits on cognition and general health Dr. Duane Mellor concludes, DietitianDietitian and professor inAston Medical College From Birmingham in England on Science Media Center.