Replacing ultra-processed foods including sugary drinks and snacks and those high in fat and salt, with the same amount of minimally processed foods was associated with a 19% reduction in dementia risk, according to a study published in Neurology that followed 72,083 adults 55 or older in the U.K. Biobank database. Ultra-processed 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," said study co-author Huiping Li.
There has been a growing body of evidence associating consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) with adverse health outcomes including depression, cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality. However, whether UPF are associated with dementia is unknown. The authors investigated the associations between UPF and dementia incidence in UK biobank.
Full Story: MedPage Today
Ref: Nutrition and Dietetics Smartbrief
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