Think That Snack’s Safe? What Ultra-Processed Foods Are Really Doing to Your Brain

A major new study published in Neurology highlights a concerning link between ultra-processed foods and brain health. Even for people who follow generally healthy diets, eating more ultra-processed foods was linked to a higher risk of both stroke and cognitive decline. The research offers new insight into how the way our food is made—not just its nutritional content—can affect brain function and long-term mental health.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?

Ultra-processed foods make up a large portion of the typical American diet. These include packaged snacks, sugary drinks, processed meats, and frozen meals. What sets them apart is that they are made with ingredients rarely used in home cooking—like emulsifiers, artificial flavors, and preservatives. These foods are engineered to taste great and be convenient, but the new research suggests they may come at a cost to our neurological health.

The Study: Food Processing and Stroke Risk

Researchers analyzed data from more than 30,000 adults aged 45 and older who were part of the long-running REGARDS (REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study. Participants reported their eating habits using a food frequency questionnaire, which researchers used to assess the degree of food processing using the NOVA classification system.

Two key groups were studied: over 14,000 people were tracked for cognitive decline and over 20,000 for stroke risk. Statistical models adjusted for factors like age, race, income, lifestyle habits, and even adherence to healthy diets like the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets.

Despite these controls, participants who consumed more ultra-processed foods had a 16% higher risk of cognitive decline and an 8% higher risk of stroke for every 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake. This effect was present regardless of how healthy the rest of the diet was.

Even Healthy Eaters Aren’t Immune

Ultra-Processed Foods and Brain Health May Be an Overlooked Factor

One of the most important findings was that ultra-processed food intake predicted brain health risks even among people who followed evidence-based diets. This suggests that focusing only on food types (like fruits, vegetables, or whole grains) may not be enough—how the food is processed also matters.

Interestingly, eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with lower risk of stroke and cognitive decline. A modest shift—like replacing one or two ultra-processed meals per week—could make a meaningful difference over time.

Why This Matters for Mental Health Professionals

This research highlights how dietary factors could play a role in preventing neurological disorders, including forms of cognitive decline and possibly even mood disorders. For clinicians in interventional psychiatry, these findings point to a need for more integrated care that includes dietary assessment and education.

As W. Taylor Kimberly, lead author and neurocritical care expert at Mass General Hospital, said: “It’s not just what type of food you eat, but how it’s processed and prepared that also matters.”

What’s Next?

While this was an observational study and can’t prove causation, the results are consistent and compelling. Researchers now plan to explore whether changes in diet over time correlate with changes in brain health—and which types of ultra-processed foods may be the most harmful.

Long term, these insights could help shape public health guidelines, food policy, and clinical advice, especially for populations at higher risk of stroke and cognitive disorders.

Conclusion

Ultra-processed foods may be convenient, but they appear to come with serious risks to our brain health. Even for people following generally healthy eating patterns, minimizing ultra-processed food intake could offer additional protection against stroke and cognitive decline. As research continues, this could be a key step in improving long-term neurological outcomes—one bite at a time.

Discover more at https://interventionalpsychiatry.org/

References

1. Associations Between Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Adverse Brain Health Outcomes Published in Neurology, this study investigates the link between ultra-processed food intake and the risk of stroke and cognitive decline. https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209432 

2. Eating Ultra-Processed Foods Tied to Cognitive Decline An article from Harvard Health Publishing discussing the association between ultra-processed foods and cognitive decline. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/eating-ultra-processed-foods-tied-to-cognitive-decline