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Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to a Dramatically Increased Risk of Dementia
Scitech Daily ^ | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | By AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY

Posted on 09/13/2022 7:46:33 AM PDT by Red Badger

They discovered that substituting ultra-processed foods with healthy foods such as fresh fruit was associated with a 19% decreased incidence of dementia.

The study also found that replacing these foods with healthier options can lower your risk of dementia. According to recent research published in the journal Neurology, those who consume the highest amounts of ultra-processed foods, such as soft drinks, chips, and cookies, may have a greater chance of developing dementia than those who consume the lowest amount. Researchers also discovered that substituting ultra-processed foods for unprocessed or minimally processed foods in a person’s diet was connected with a decreased risk. The study does not prove that ultra-processed foods cause dementia. Only an association was shown.

Ultra-processed foods are low in protein and fiber and heavy in added sugar, fat, and salt. Soft drinks, salty and sweet snacks, ice cream, sausage, deep-fried chicken, yogurt, canned tomatoes and baked beans, ketchup, mayonnaise, packaged guacamole and hummus, packaged bread, and flavored cereals are some examples of ultra-processed foods.

“Ultra-processed foods are meant to be convenient and tasty, but they diminish the quality of a person’s diet,” said study author Huiping Li, Ph.D., of Tianjin Medical University in China. “These foods may also contain food additives or molecules from packaging or produced during heating, all of which have been shown in other studies to have negative effects on thinking and memory skills. Our research not only found that ultra-processed foods are associated with an increased risk of dementia, but it also found replacing them with healthy options may decrease dementia risk.”

Researchers identified 72,083 individuals for the study from the UK Biobank, a vast database comprising health information on half a million people in the United Kingdom. The study’s participants were 55 years of age or older and did not have dementia at the beginning. They were tracked for an average of ten years. 518 individuals had dementia diagnoses at the conclusion of the research.

Participants in the study completed at least two questionnaires on what they ate and drank the day before. Researchers calculated how much ultra-processed food individuals ate and compared it to the grams per day of other foods to produce a proportion of their daily diet. They then separated the subjects into four equal groups, ranging from the lowest to the greatest percentage intake of ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods accounted for 9% of the daily diet of people in the lowest group, or 225 grams per day, compared to 28% of the daily diet of those in the highest category, or 814 grams per day. 150 grams was comparable to one serving of pizza or fish sticks. Beverages were the leading food category contributing to high ultra-processed food consumption, followed by sugary goods and ultra-processed dairy.

In the lowest group, 105 of the 18,021 people developed dementia, compared to 150 of the 18,021 people in the highest group.

After adjusting for age, gender, family history of dementia and heart disease, and other factors that could affect the risk of dementia, researchers found that for every 10% increase in daily intake of ultra-processed foods, people had a 25% higher risk of dementia.

Researchers also used study data to estimate what would happen if a person substituted 10% of ultra-processed foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods, like fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes, milk, and meat. They found that such a substitution was associated with a 19% lower risk of dementia.

“Our results also show increasing unprocessed or minimally processed foods by only 50 grams a day, which is equivalent to half an apple, a serving of corn, or a bowl of bran cereal, and simultaneously decreasing ultra-processed foods by 50 grams a day, equivalent to a chocolate bar or a serving of fish sticks, is associated with 3% decreased risk of dementia,” said Li. “It’s encouraging to know that small and manageable changes in diet may make a difference in a person’s risk of dementia.”

Li noted that further research is needed to confirm the findings.

Maura E. Walker, Ph.D., of Boston University in Massachusetts, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, said, “While nutrition research has started to focus on food processing, the challenge is categorizing such foods as unprocessed, minimally processed, processed, and ultra-processed. For example, foods like soup would be classified differently if canned versus homemade. Plus, the level of processing is not always aligned with diet quality. Plant-based burgers that qualify as high quality may also be ultra-processed. As we aim to understand better the complexities of dietary intake, we must also consider that more high-quality dietary assessments may be required.”

A limitation of the study was that cases of dementia were determined by looking at hospital records and death registries rather than primary care data, so milder cases may have been overlooked.

Reference: “Association of Ultraprocessed Food Consumption With Risk of Dementia” by Huiping Li, Shu Li, Hongxi Yang, Yuan Zhang, Shunming Zhang, Yue Ma, Yabing Hou, Xinyu Zhang, Kaijun Niu, Yan Borné and Yaogang Wang, 27 July 2022, Neurology. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200871

The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Gardening; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: dementia; food; junkfood; nutrition
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I'm dooooomed!........................😜
1 posted on 09/13/2022 7:46:33 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger
Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to a Dramatically Increased Risk of Dementia Democrat-ia
2 posted on 09/13/2022 7:51:36 AM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: Red Badger
I wish they'd define "highly processed." Some foods that are routinely considered "junk" are not highly processed.

Perhaps the oils used in a lot of these foods is the culprit.

3 posted on 09/13/2022 7:53:38 AM PDT by fwdude (Racism is not dead, but it is on life support - kept alive by politicians….” — Thomas Sowell)
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To: fwdude

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2010/03/22/sweet-problem-princeton-researchers-find-high-fructose-corn-syrup-prompts


4 posted on 09/13/2022 7:54:18 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger
My God, this is ignorant. Here's how the "study" determined diet choices of participants:

Participants in the study completed at least two questionnaires on what they ate and drank the day before.

Why would anyone post crap like this?

5 posted on 09/13/2022 7:55:00 AM PDT by FirstFlaBn
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To: Red Badger

Biden loves ice cream.


6 posted on 09/13/2022 7:56:45 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: Red Badger

It’s okay. Just don’t use your food processor.


7 posted on 09/13/2022 7:56:49 AM PDT by Track9 (You are far too inquisitive not to be seduced…)
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To: Red Badger

Yogurt is not a highly processed food. I have a feeling that the “study” might not stand up under scrutiny. Just a feeling. We already know that foods made with refined flour, sugar, and fat are not healthful choices. Tht is why they taste so good.


8 posted on 09/13/2022 7:56:56 AM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: Jim W N
Make sure to eat your highly processed Beyond Meat or Impossible Burgers.
After all, they are one of the 4 main food groups.

9 posted on 09/13/2022 7:57:29 AM PDT by Tommy Revolts
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To: lastchance

They are most likely talking about ‘frozen yogurt’ that is like soft serve ice cream....................


10 posted on 09/13/2022 7:58:21 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: TornadoAlley3

Explains much.....................


11 posted on 09/13/2022 7:58:55 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: fwdude; Red Badger
fwdude :" I wish they'd define "highly processed."

" " I wish they'd define "highly processed."
Me too !
And I believe you may be correct that the culprit will be found in the selection of cooking "oils",
and oils temperature during processing.

12 posted on 09/13/2022 7:59:09 AM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt
Yep. And there are a lot of virtually industrial-grade oils used to make "food." Most canola falls into this category.

As another poster mentioned, the sugars used are a culprit as well.

13 posted on 09/13/2022 8:01:29 AM PDT by fwdude (Racism is not dead, but it is on life support - kept alive by politicians….” — Thomas Sowell)
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To: Red Badger
Soft drinks, salty and sweet snacks, ice cream, sausage, deep-fried chicken, yogurt, canned tomatoes and baked beans, ketchup, mayonnaise, packaged guacamole and hummus, packaged bread, and flavored cereals are some examples of ultra-processed foods.

Bull.

I mean really completely and totally bull.

Fried chicken is chicken, flour maybe some seasonings fried in oil.

Mayonnaise is egg blended with vinegar and oil, yogurt is milk that has been mixed with culture and left to set about 12 hours.

NONE of these are "ultra-processed".

If I can whip it up in my kitchen in under 30 minutes it is not ultra processed.

14 posted on 09/13/2022 8:02:34 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: Red Badger

Damn... they just listed my diet


15 posted on 09/13/2022 8:02:39 AM PDT by Java4Jay (The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people. )
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt; fwdude

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat


16 posted on 09/13/2022 8:02:58 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger
study author Huiping Li, Ph.D., of Tianjin Medical University in China.

China. Again.

The land of fake poisoned toothpaste.

Anything that comes out of China is a lie.

17 posted on 09/13/2022 8:04:17 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

I don’t think they are talking about foods you prepare yourself, but foods you buy at the grocery store already to ‘Heat & Serve’ stuff...................


18 posted on 09/13/2022 8:04:46 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

I cannot find a mayonnaise Not made from soybean oil...well there are some olive oil ones...do you make your own?


19 posted on 09/13/2022 8:06:04 AM PDT by goodnesswins (The Chinese are teaching calculus to their 3rd graders while ours are trying to pick a pronoun.)
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To: Red Badger

Oh, easily. Dementia runs in my family, though I’m hoping to slow mine down with clean food, fresh air and sunshine.

My relatives lived on Oscar Mayer lunch meats and Kraft ‘cheese’ slices on a daily basis.

*SHUDDER*


20 posted on 09/13/2022 8:07:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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