Why Your Brain Is Fried

Phil: And last story is that another study that was presented last week at the 2022 Alzheimer's association international conference in Chicago. They followed over 10,000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. And what they found, which is really interesting is that eating ultra-processed foods for more than 20% of your daily calorie intake every day can set you on the road to cognitive decline. For men and women who ate the most ultra processed foods that a 28% faster rate of global cognitive design and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared with people who ate the least amount of overly processed foods. So, you know, just another indication of why we need to be reading those labels and looking for as close to nature as possible for our food supply. 

Sally: Absolutely. These ultra processed foods are typically very, very high in salt and sugar and fat, and they don't really contain whole foods. So we've gotta be really careful. Also though they may replace the calories that you would've gotten from good fibers, and good fiber is what helps keep your body healthy and balanced. So as you are aging, your body and your brain are aging in a healthy way. So, you know, maybe think twice before you eat the whole bag of chips.

Phil: Yeah. And, not to put it on supermarkets, but their buyers need to read this stuff, need to understand it and just not load up their shelves with products that, you know, they would need themselves if they knew. So that's important.