Are you eating THIS dementia and stroke trigger?

Do you worry about cognitive decline?

Are you concerned you might get dementia and become a burden to your loved ones?

If so, listen up.

Because new research reveals if you want to protect your aging brain…

You should stop eating THIS immediately.

Dementia and stroke risk

Folks, I don’t know how many times I can write the same thing.

We briefly touched on this just yesterday—and I’ve been shouting it from the rooftops for decades…

STAY AWAY FROM PROCESSED FOODS!

Yet another study suggests that eating highly processed foods may be harmful to the aging brain.

Researchers followed participants for over 10 years and found a connection between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and an increased risk for cognitive decline and stroke.

More specifically, for a 10 percent increase in UPF consumption, participants experienced a 16 percent increased risk for cognitive impairment and an eight percent higher stroke risk.

On the contrary, eating more unprocessed—or, at the very least, minimally processed—foods may lower your risk for dementia and stroke.

In fact, these choices translated to a 12 percent lower risk for cognitive impairment and a nine percent lower risk for stroke.

In other words, what you eat matters.

You have a choice—and that choice can very much influence your health.

Eat real food

Let’s back up just a bit.

UPFs are highly manipulated “foods” that are loaded with added ingredients and fillers—including sugar, fat, and salt.

If you need a few examples, we’re talking about soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fries… the list goes in.

Or, as many would say, all the “good” stuff.

And this isn’t the first study—nor will it be the last—to emphasize just how detrimental UPFs are to our health.

(Other research has highlighted links between these foods and depression rates—as well as metabolic disorders, and more. I’m just surprised it took this long to reach the mainstream press.)

Meanwhile, unprocessed—or minimally processed—foods include grass-fed and -finished meats, wild-caught seafood, organic vegetables, some seasonal fruits, and nuts.

To keep things extraordinarily simple, just follow this advice: If there are more than one or two ingredients in a food, don’t eat it. Keep your dietary choices simple. (The simpler, the better.)

Everyone wants to keep their brains healthy. We ALL fear losing our memory.

So, this is just another example of a simple lifestyle change you can make to help maintain brain health—and prevent poor brain health outcomes—over the years.

And remember: The next time you reach for that UPF… while it may taste yummy, you’re eating things like emulsifiers, colorants, sweeteners, and nitrates/nitrites. In no universe is any of that stuff good for you.

P.S. Need help sticking to a whole foods diet? Order yourself a copy of my A-List Diet, which includes expert dietary advice and dozens of delicious recipes.

Source:

“Ultraprocessed Foods an Independent Risk Factor for Poor Brain Health.” Medscape, 05/23/2024. (medscape.com/viewarticle/ultra-processed-foods-independent-risk-factor-poor-brain-2024a10009sj)