UPFs are linked to health problems however. You could really tweak your doctor with this one; asking for potato chips for cognition
New research suggests UPFs aren’t linked to cognitive decline—but that may not be the full story
- A new study analyzed data from 1,400 older adults in Amsterdam, tracking their diet habits and cognitive test scores over a decade.
- The results suggest that eating ultra-processed food wasn’t linked to mental decline.
- Ultimately, researchers believe a person’s overall diet quality—not just the level of processing—may matter more in supporting healthy brain function.
Ultra-processed foods (or UPFs) have come under fire over the past few years, and with good reason. These foods are linked to several serious health conditions, including certain kinds of cancer and heart disease. But ultra-processed foods also make up 70 percent of our food supply, making them tricky to avoid entirely. Now, new research suggests there’s one area of health where UPFs are potentially less likely to trip you up: your brain health.
There is a big caveat here, and the study’s findings don’t suggest you should suddenly load up on chips and deli meat with the goal of supporting your brain. But they do suggest that you may not need to fear this food category as much as you thought—when it comes to your cognitive health, at least. Here’s why.
Meet the experts: Hanneke Wijnhoven, PhD, is a study co-author and assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Keri Gans, RDN, CDN, is a nutrition consultant and host of The Keri Report.
What did the study find?
The study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, analyzed data from nearly 1,400 older adults who participated in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. (All of the participants were at least 55 years old.)
The study specifically looked at data from a dietary questionnaire completed by participants between 2014 and 2015, which asked them to recall how much and how often they ate certain foods over the past four weeks.
The researchers used that information to categorize the foods into levels of processing using the NOVA classification system (more on that in a sec) and noted how much of each type of food the participants consumed. They then looked at cognitive test scores collected from the participants four times over a decade.
After crunching all of the data, the researchers didn’t find a link between the amount of ultra-processed food the participants ate and their cognitive abilities over time. They also didn’t find that people who ate a diet high in processed foods experienced faster cognitive decline with time. Ultimately, the team found that a person’s overall diet quality—not the level of processing—may matter more when it comes to cognitive decline.
“We wanted to examine whether the degree of food processing was independently associated with cognitive decline when overall diet quality and other lifestyle factors were taken into account,” says Hanneke Wijnhoven, PhD, a study co-author and assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
“Understanding this distinction is important," she notes, "because public health messages increasingly focus on avoiding ultra-processed foods, while people’s overall quality of diet may be more relevant for long-term brain health.”
What are ultra-processed foods again?
Scientists categorize foods by level of processing using a classification system called the NOVA scale, developed in part by Carlos Monteiro, MD, PhD, who has been widely credited as popularizing the term UPF. Here’s how the NOVA system breaks down the four food-processing levels:
- Unprocessed and minimally processed foods. These are in their natural state or barely altered, and include things like carrots, apples, and milk.
- Processed culinary ingredients. These foods are minimally processed—whether by pressing, refining, grinding, or milling. They include things like olive oil and flour.
- Processed foods. This category includes foods that are altered from their usual state. They often contain sugar, oil, and salt. Certain cheeses and canned tuna are considered processed foods.
- Ultra-processed foods. This category includes foods that are processed and have added ingredients such as artificial colors and flavors, preservatives for shelf stability, and ingredients to maintain texture. Most packaged foods are ultra-processed foods. A good rule of thumb for gauging whether something is a UPF is to see if it contains ingredients you wouldn't otherwise find in your kitchen. High fructose corn syrup is a common ingredient found in ultra-processed food that you likely don't have in your kitchen, for example.
Why might overall diet quality matter more?
It’s still possible to have good nutrition from foods that have undergone a lot of processing, according to Keri Gans, RDN, CDN, a nutrition consultant and host of The Keri Report. “Processing alone doesn’t determine how nutritious a food is,” she says. “What likely matters more for brain health is the overall eating pattern: Getting fiber, unsaturated fats, vitamins, and antioxidants from foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and fish that support heart health and blood flow to the brain.”
Wijnhoven agrees. “The level of food processing does not necessarily capture these nutritional differences, because foods within the same processing category can vary widely in their nutrient composition,” she says. “As a result, overall diet quality may provide more relevant information about diet–health relationships than processing level.”
Does this apply to all ultra-processed foods?
This study was conducted in Amsterdam, and Wijnhoven says more research is needed to determine whether these findings apply elsewhere. While the actual ingredients in processed foods can vary across countries due to differences in regulations, ingredients, and eating habits, the NOVA classification system for food processing focuses solely on the degree of processing and is consistent across all countries.
“This means that ‘ultra-processed foods’ can include products with very different nutritional profiles across countries,” Gans explains.
American processed foods tend to be made for a longer shelf life and convenience, which may involve more refined ingredients and additives, she says. “European regulations restrict some food additives, so certain products might have simpler ingredient lists,” she notes. “That doesn’t automatically mean all U.S. processed foods are unhealthy, but it can influence differences in overall diet quality among populations.”
So, keep doing what you can to focus on whole, minimally processed foods. But if you need to have some ultra-processed foods, aim for options that serve up more nutrition—it could do your brain health a solid.
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