Processed foods and brain function.

What are processed foods? Most processed foods are prepackaged foods that have been heavily ground up and often contain ingredients you and I cannot pronounce. Twinkies are the ultimate processed food, high in calories, high fructose corn syrup, and chemicals we cannot pronounce with no nutritional value whatsoever.

Cereals such as cheerios or lucky charms are loaded with sugar and many frozen meals also fall into this category.

Research suggests that diets heavy in these foods lead to depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. Could this be why so many of us have weight issues and are on antidepressants in the USA?

Scientists are trying to understand why according to a recent article in the NY Times. Check out the article below

The Link Between Highly Processed Foods and Brain Health

Eating packaged foods like cereal and frozen meals has been associated with anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. Scientists are still piecing together why.

By Sally Wadyka May 4, 2023

Roughly 60 percent of the calories in the average American diet come from highly processed foods. We’ve known for decades that eating such packaged products — like some breakfast cereals, snack bars, frozen meals and virtually all packaged sweets, among many other things — is linked to unwelcome health outcomes, like an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and even cancer. But more recent studies point to another major downside to these often delicious, always convenient foods: They appear to have a significant impact on our minds, too.

Research from the past ten or so years has shown that the more ultraprocessed foods a person eats, the higher the chances that they feel depressed and anxious. A few studies have suggested a link between eating UPFs and increased risk of cognitive decline.