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The danger of ultraprocessed food (UPF) is becoming increasingly apparent, with its consumption causing a myriad of health issues including obesity and heart disease.

Globally, diet related disease is the leading cause of premature death, surpassing that of tobacco or any other health risk. A less explored aspect of UPF research is its impact on dementia. With dementia’s prevalence exponentially increasing (predicted to surpass 150 million by 2050), it is vital to explore all potential risk factors, including UPF.

What is Ultraprocessed Food?

Ultraprocessed food is omnipresent, ranging from ready meals and fast food to ice cream, breakfast cereals and most store-bought bread. In fact, UPF makes up 60% of the average diet in the UK and US, with one in five UK citizens getting at least 80% of their caloric intake from UPF, a figure particularly pertinent to children and adolescents.

Put simply, UPF undergoes industrial processing and typically contains long lists of added ingredients, such as artificial colours, preservatives, gums, starches, added sugars, stabilisers and hydrogenated fats.

The adverse health effects of UPF consumption were originally solely discussed in the context of obesity. Evidence now suggests that UPF’s impacts are far vaster, associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and dementia.

Is There a Link Between UPF and Dementia?

A study published in 2023 led by Dr Natalia Gonçalves analysed 11,000 adults and their UPF consumption over 8 years. Their findings corroborated existing research, identifying a link between increased UPF consumption and cognitive decline. Middle-aged individuals with the highest UPF intake exhibited a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline than their counterparts who consumed the lowest UPF. Whilst observational studies cannot establish causation, it is clear that there is an association between UPF and dementia. Whilst this link is confidently established in the scientific literature, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Dr Rosa Sancho, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK explains this, noting “We don’t know for sure why people who eat ultraprocessed foods show an increased risk of dementia”. She explains that current research offers many possible explanations ranging from UPF’s effect on nutrient deficiencies and excessive sodium intake to its potential to increase blood pressure and increase the risk of cerebrovascular disease. Moreover, other hypotheses argue that UPF consumption can diminish hippocampal volume (the hippocampus is important for learning and memory), or expose individuals to harmful chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA). The packaging of UPF often contains BPA, a dangerous compound used in the manufacturing of plastics. It is neurotoxic and exposure to it increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. Furthermore, harmful chemicals found in UPF can disturb the gut microbiome. Researchers at King’s College London found that they could transfer memory impairments in individuals with dementia to young animals through the transplant of gut microbiota.

As of now, the mechanistic evidence linking UPF to dementia is inconclusive and is likely multifactorial. Future research should aim to confirm the link, to aid our understanding of the disease and inform treatment and prevention strategies. In the meantime, healthy lifestyle choices and a nutritious diet avoiding UPF, such as the MIND diet, may prevent cognitive decline and the development of dementia.

The MIND Diet:

The Mediterranean Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND diet) can mitigate cognitive decline. The diet avoids UPF and consists of whole grains, leafy greens, nuts, beans, berries, fish and olive oil. In 2022, the MIND diet’s efficacy was shown, with individuals who replaced just 10% of their UPF intake with whole, non-processed food reducing their dementia risk by 19%.

In conclusion, this post details the risks of UPF consumption and sheds light on its association with dementia. As UPF continues to pervade our modern diets and dementia incidence rises at an exponential rate, now more than ever, we must seek more definitive explanations. Future research must investigate the complex relationship between UPF and dementia to provide explanations which will not only guide our understanding of both but will inform future treatment and prevention strategies.

Reference list

de Crom, T.O.E., Mooldijk, S.S., Ikram, M.K., Ikram, M.A. and Voortman, T. (2022). MIND diet and the risk of dementia: a population-based study. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, [online] 14(1), pp.1–10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-022-00957-1.

Gomes Gonçalves, N., Vidal Ferreira, N., Khandpur, N., Martinez Steele, E., Bertazzi Levy, R., Andrade Lotufo, P., Bensenor, I.M., Caramelli, P., Alvim de Matos, S.M., Marchioni, D.M. and Suemoto, C.K. (2022). Association Between Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods and Cognitive Decline. JAMA Neurology, [online] 80(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4397.

Grabrucker, S., Marizzoni, M., Edina Silajdžić, Lopizzo, N., Mombelli, E., Nicolas, S., Dohm-Hansen, S., Catia Scassellati, Davide Vito Moretti, Rosa, M., Hoffmann, K., Cryan, J.F., O’Leary, O.F., English, J., Lavelle, A., O’Neill, C., Sandrine Thuret, Cattaneo, A. and Nolan, Y.M. (2023). Microbiota from Alzheimer’s patients induce deficits in cognition and hippocampal neurogenesis. Brain, 146(12). doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad303.

Li, H., Li, S., Yang, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, S., Ma, Y., Hou, Y., Zhang, X., Niu, K., Borne, Y. and Wang, Y. (2022). Association of Ultraprocessed Food Consumption With Risk of Dementia: A Prospective Cohort. Neurology, [online] 99(10). doi:https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000200871.

Rico-Campà, A., Martínez-González, M.A., Alvarez-Alvarez, I., Mendonça, R. de D., de la Fuente-Arrillaga, C., Gómez-Donoso, C. and Bes-Rastrollo, M. (2019). Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality: SUN prospective cohort study. BMJ, [online] 365, p.l1949. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1949.

Tran, Q. (2022). Diet high in ultra-processed foods linked to a higher risk of dementia. [online] Alzheimer’s Research UK. Available at: https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/diet-high-in-ultra-processed-foods-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-dementia/.

Resources for further interest

Ultra-Processed People, a book by Dr Chris van Tulleken

What Are We Feeding Our Kids, a BBC1 documentary

Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health, a BBC2 documentary