The highway to Alzheimer's disease: Ultraprocessed foods

Lately there have been several articles in the media emphasizing the link between "ultra-processed foods" and the development of Alzheimer's disease. Or, more accurately, "food products," since they're not exactly real food.  What prompted the recent interest is a new study published in the July 27 issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, entitled "Association of Ultraprocessed Food Consumption With Risk of Dementia; A Prospective Cohort."  Chinese researchers using data on citizens of the UK found an association between ultra-processed foods and incidence of dementia.  They found that for every 10% increase in daily intake of ultra-processed foods, people had a 25% higher risk of dementia.

In other words, a small increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods led to a big jump in the risk of dementia.

The authors were careful to point out that they found an association, not necessarily a causal relationship.

Recall that the government of China is the second biggest funder of Alzheimer's research behind the US government.  The Alzheimer's Association is third.

So what do we mean by "ultra-processed foods?" Ultra-processed foods are high in added sugar, fat, and salt, and low in protein and fiber. There's a system called NOVA (that's not an acronym) for categorizing food processing that breaks it down like this:

• Unprocessed or minimally processed foods 
• Processed culinary ingredients 
• Processed foods 
• Ultra processed food and drink products 

So what's special about ultra-processed foods?  Brazilian nutrition researcher Carlos Monteiro, at the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, coined the term.  He said the term doesn't relate to the food, but rather to all of the processing.  What foods are in question?  You're not going to like this.  Here are some examples:

• Carbonated soft drinks 
• Sweet, fatty, or salty packaged snacks 
• Candies (confectionery)
• Mass-produced packaged breads and buns 
• Cookies (biscuits) 
• Pastries Cakes and cake mixes 
• Margarine and other spreads 
• Sweetened breakfast cereals 
• Sweetened fruit yogurt and energy drinks 
• Powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles, and desserts 
• Pre-prepared meat, cheese, pasta, and pizza dishes 
• Poultry and fish nuggets and sticks 
• Sausages, hamburgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products  

You'll note that none of these foods are included in the MIND diet, the DASH diet, or the Mediterranean diet.

Of course, not all ultra-processed foods are created equal.  For example, plant-based hamburgers could be both of nutritional high quality but also be classified as ultra-processed.  But check the label -- no trans-fats or other problematic ingredients. 

We never used the term "ultra-processed foods" in Beating the Dementia Monster.  Actually I'd never heard the term before I saw this study.  Nevertheless they have no place in the Dementia Toolkit.  And they have no place in your diet if you're concerned about your brain health.