Although sweet or salty snacks are enjoyable to eat, a new study has reached the kind of results that will upset junk food lovers. The study, published in the journal Neurology, revealed that people who consume highly processed foods such as beverages and chocolate are at greater risk of developing dementia.
According to the study, people who consume the equivalent of half an apple a day, or consume minimally processed foods, have a 3% lower risk of dementia than those who consume ultra-processed foods. Consuming less processed or unprocessed food instead of ultra-processed food helps reduce this risk.
Consuming just 50 grams more increases the risk of dementia:
The study was not a small-scale study. Scientists examined the health data of 72,083 people within the UK Biobank. While these people, who are older than 55, did not show signs of dementia at first, 518 people were diagnosed with dementia 10 years later. These people consisted of people who consumed excessively processed foods.
Of the 518 people diagnosed with dementia, 150 consumed an average of 814 grams of highly processed food per day. Among those diagnosed, 105 were those who consumed very small amounts of highly processed foods. This group consumed an average of 225 grams of highly processed food per day. In other words, increasing the consumption of these foods by only 50 grams, or the equivalent of half an apple, increased the risk of dementia.
It includes foods high in added sugar, fat and salt, and low in protein and fiber, such as ultra-processed foods, soft drinks, salty and sugary snacks, ice cream, hot dogs, deep-fried chicken, canned beans, ketchup, and flavored cereals.
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