Study: Very Processed Foods Can Slow Your Brain
Introduction
A new study shows that eating a lot of very processed foods can make it harder to pay attention and think quickly.
Main Body
Researchers from three universities studied 2,100 Australian adults. The adults did not have dementia. The researchers asked about their food and tested their attention and thinking speed. They found that when people ate 10% more very processed foods, their attention scores went down. For example, eating one more bag of chips each day. Other studies also found similar results. A 2022 study from Harvard said people who ate more processed foods had a 25% higher risk of dementia. Another study from China followed 72,000 older adults for 10 years. It said that replacing 10% of processed foods with fresh foods could lower dementia risk by 19%. A study from Virginia Tech linked processed meats and sugary drinks to worse memory. A 2023 study from Ohio State said the average attention span of US adults is now eight seconds. Dr. Barbara Cardoso is the lead researcher. She said the chemicals in processed foods are probably the reason for the brain problems. Dr. Evita Singh said many things can affect attention. The study did not prove that processed foods cause dementia. But it found links to problems like obesity and high blood pressure. The researchers said more study is needed. Very processed foods make up about 60% of the US diet. Some foods that seem healthy, like granola bars and plant-based meat, are also very processed. The researchers say eating these foods sometimes is not a problem. But eating them every day may slowly hurt your brain over time.
Conclusion
This study adds to the evidence that eating many processed foods is bad for your brain. It is especially bad for attention. We need to learn more about how these foods affect the brain.