Brain drain: highly processed foods linked to cognitive decline

Ultra-processed food and snacks may be trashing your brain.

Women who ate processed grub such as white bread, soda, chicken nuggets and hot dogs in midlife are more likely to have cognitive decline later in life, a new, first-of-its-kind study found.

Researchers at New York University tracked over 5,000 women for 30 years, and those who reported consuming those types of foods in their 40s and 50s were 24% more likely to report problems with memory recall and concentration as they’ve aged.

“Midlife is a particularly critical period for the onset of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease development in later years, especially in women,” reads the study, published by Preventive Medicine in next month’s edition.

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