Eating ultra-processed foods for more than 20% of your daily calorie intake every day could set you on the road to cognitive decline， a study revealed.

We all know eating ultra-processed foods—such as prepackaged soups， sauces， frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals—isnt good for our health. Nor is gobbling up all the pleasure foods that we love so much： hot dogs， sausages， burgers， French fries， sodas， cookies， cakes， candies， doughnuts and ice cream， to name just a few.

Studies have found they can raise our risk of obesity， heart problems， diabetes and cancer. They may even shorten our lives.

Now， a new study has revealed eating more ultra-processed foods may contribute to overall cognitive decline， including the areas of the brain involved in executive functioning—the ability to process information and make decisions.

In fact， people who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared with people who ate the least amount of overly processed foods.

一項研究揭示，如果超加工食品在你每天攝入的卡路里中占比超過20%，你可能就會逐漸出現(xiàn)認知下降。

超加工食品，如預制的湯、醬料、冷凍比薩和快餐，對我們的健康有害。而那些帶給我們愉悅并被我們大口吞下的食品，比如熱狗、香腸、漢堡、炸薯條、蘇打水、餅干、蛋糕、糖果、甜甜圈和冰激凌等，同樣對我們的健康沒好處。

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，吃超加工食品會讓我們增加患肥胖、心臟病、糖尿病和癌癥的風險，甚至還可能會縮短我們的壽命。

目前，一項新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，攝入大量的超加工食品可能會導致整體認知能力下降，認知能力包括與執(zhí)行功能有關的大腦區(qū)域，執(zhí)行功能是指加工信息并做出決策的能力。

事實上，攝入最多超加工食品的人的整體認知能力和執(zhí)行功能的下降速度要比那些攝入最少超加工食品的人分別快28%和25%。

“While in need of further study and replication， the new results are quite compelling and emphasize the critical role for proper nutrition in preserving and promoting brain health and reducing risk for brain diseases as we get older，” said Rudy Tanzi， professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in the US and director of the genetics and aging research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US. He was not involved in the study.

Tanzi said the key problem with ultra-processed foods is that “they are usually very high in sugar， salt and fat， all of which promote systemic inflammation， perhaps the most major threat to healthy aging in the body and brain.”

“Meanwhile， since they are convenient， they sometimes replace eating food that is high in plant fiber that is important for maintaining the health and balance of the trillions of bacteria in your gut microbiome，” he added， “which is particularly important for brain health and reducing risk of age-related brain diseases like Alzheimers disease.”

沒有參與該研究的美國哈佛大學醫(yī)學院神經(jīng)學教授、美國麻省總醫(yī)院基因?qū)W和老年研究部主任魯?shù)稀ぬ过R表示：“盡管還需要進一步的研究和重復實驗，但這項新的研究結(jié)果非常具有說服力，它強調(diào)了適當?shù)臓I養(yǎng)對于維持和促進大腦健康并減少在年老過程中大腦出現(xiàn)疾病方面的重要作用?！?/p>

坦齊指出，超加工食品最大的問題在于“它們通常高糖、高鹽、高脂肪，所有這些會加速全身性炎癥。而全身性炎癥也許是身體和大腦正常老去的最大威脅?！?/p>

“同時，由于超加工食品非常方便，因此，它們有時取代了那些富含植物纖維的食品，這些植物纖維對于維持腸道微生物群體的健康和數(shù)萬億腸道細菌的平衡非常重要?！彼a充表示：“這對于維持大腦健康和降低患阿爾茨海默病等與衰老有關的大腦疾病尤其重要?！?/p>

The study followed over 10，000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. Over half of the study participants were women and college educated， while the average age was 51.

Cognitive testing， which included immediate and delayed word recall， word recognition and verbal fluency was performed at the beginning and end of the study， and participants were asked about their diet.

“In Brazil， ultra-processed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. Its not very different， unfortunately， from many other Western countries，” said co-author Dr Claudia Suemoto， an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil.

Ultra-processed foods are defined as industrial formulations of food substances （oils， fats， sugars， starch， and protein isolates） that contain little whole foods and typically include flavorings， colorings， emulsifiers， and other chemical additives， according to the study.

這一研究在10年時間里跟蹤研究了1萬多名巴西人。超過半數(shù)的參與者為女性、受過大學教育者，平均年齡為51歲。

認知能力測試在研究開始和結(jié)束時進行，具體包括即時和延遲詞匯回憶、詞匯認知、語言流利程度。參與者會被詢問他們的飲食情況。

“在巴西，超加工食品占攝入卡路里總量的25%—30%。遺憾的是，巴西人的飲食習慣和許多西方國家的人的飲食習慣并沒有太大區(qū)別?！毖芯康暮现摺臀魇ケＡ_大學醫(yī)學院老年科助理教授克勞迪婭·蘇埃莫托博士表示。

根據(jù)研究，超加工食品被定義為食物成分（油、脂肪、糖、淀粉糊和分離蛋白）的工業(yè)配方，它們幾乎不包含全天然食物并且往往含有調(diào)味料、色素、乳化劑和其他化學添加劑。

For a person who eats 2，000 calories a day， 20% would equal 400 or more calories—a small order of fries and regular cheeseburger contains a total of 530 calories.

Those in the study who ate the most ultra-processed foods “were more likely to be younger， women， had higher education and income， and were more likely to have never smoked， and less likely to be current alcohol consumers，” the study found.

“We should cook more and prepare our own food from scratch. We say we dont have time but it really doesnt take that much time，” Suemoto said.

“Its worth it because youre going to protect your heart and guard your brain from dementia or Alzheimers disease，” she added. “Thats the take-home message： Stop buying things that are super-processed.”

對于一個每天攝入2000卡路里的人而言，20%的超加工食品相當于400或以上的卡路里——一小份炸薯條和標準大小的奶酪漢堡總共含有530卡路里。

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，攝入最多超加工食品的人“往往是年輕人、女性、受過高等教育者以及高收入者，而且他們幾乎從未有吸煙史和飲酒史”。

“我們應該多下廚做飯，而且是用天然食材進行烹飪。我們往往會說我們沒時間，但其實烹飪花不了多少時間。”蘇埃莫托表示。

“這樣做是值得的，因為你在這一過程中保護了自己的心臟并避免自己的大腦患上癡呆或阿爾茨海默病?！碧K埃莫托補充道，“這里所傳達的一個重要信息是不要再買那些超加工食品了?！?/p>

Word Bank

compelling /k?m'pel??/ adj. 令人信服的

verbal /'v??bl/ adj. 言語的

from scratch 從頭開始