Nutrition and Dementia > The Link between super-processed foods and dementia, etc., etc

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Ultra-processed foods linked to cognitive decline, dementia: study

By Brooke Steinberg

December 6, 2022 11:22am  Updated

Ultra-processed foods might make our lives easier and taste delicious, but they might have detrimental impacts down the line — possibly leading to dementia.

A new study published in JAMA Neurology on Monday found that people could be at a higher risk of cognitive decline if more than 20% of their daily caloric intake is ultra-processed foods.

That’s about 400 calories a day in a diet of 2,000 calories a day. An order of small fries and a regular cheeseburger from McDonald’s is 530 calories.

Other examples of ultra-processed foods include frozen pizza, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts and ice cream.

In the study, researchers defined ultra-processed foods as “industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers and other cosmetic additives.”

“Fifty-eight percent of the calories consumed by United States citizens, 56.8% of the calories consumed by British citizens, and 48% of the calories consumed by Canadians come from ultra-processed foods,” co-author Dr. Claudia Suemoto, an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of São Paulo Medical School, said.

Those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline.

Getty Images

The part of the brain involved in executive functioning — the ability to process information and make decisions — is especially impacted by the risk of cognitive decline, according to the study.

More than 10,000 Brazilians between 35 and 74 years old were followed for up to 10 years for the study, which aimed to see how eating this kind of food affected brain power.

A new study found that people could be at a higher risk of cognitive decline if more than 20% of their daily caloric intake

is ultra-processed foods. Getty Images

Participants were tested at the beginning and end of the study to see if their mental state had changed. Tests included immediate and delayed word recall, word recognition and verbal fluency. They also had to complete food questionnaires to determine how much ultra-processed foods they consumed.

Those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive-function decline compared to those who ate less than 20%.

In addition to cognitive decline, ultra-processed foods can be linked to an increased risk in obesity, heart and circulation problems, diabetes, cancer and a shorter life span.

Examples of ultra-processed foods include frozen pizza, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts,

 and ice cream. Getty Images

One way to prevent ultra-processed foods from impairing your cognitive health is by cooking and preparing the food from scratch, according to Suemoto.

“People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know we say we don’t have time, but it really doesn’t take that much time,” she said. 

“And it’s worth it, because you’re going to protect your heart and guard your brain from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. That’s the take-home message: Stop buying things that are super processed.” 

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Sanders Calls for Investigations into Big Pharma Insulin-Price Collusion

    U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders © Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has requested the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission open investigations into “potential coordination” by drug-makers Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk in raising insulin prices.

In a letter sent Thursday to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FTC chair Edith Ramirez, Sanders and Elijah Cummings — the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee — offered evidence that the three companies "who make different versions of insulin have continuously raised prices on this life-saving medication" even though the patent on insulin expired decades ago, and that "price increases have reportedly mirrored one another precisely."

Insulin is used to treat diabetes, a set of diseases that has quadrupled across the world in the last 35 years, according to the World Health Organization. Nearly 30 million Americans live with with diabetes, and many need insulin to survive. Diabetes costs in the US reached $322 billion in 2012, the letter claimed.

"We have also heard from our constituents that the life-saving insulin they need is increasingly unaffordable," Sanders and Cummings wrote. "About six million Americans use insulin, and for many patients, switching between insulin brands can be difficult because the medicines are not completely interchangeable."

Only three companies — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi — make insulin worldwide and often insist they do not completely control costs. Yet analysts of the industry have said "evergreening" — or slight modifications to drugs that help maintain patients' business while keeping generic drugs at bay — and steep price hikes have occurred for decades.

"We strongly disagree with the accusations in the letter," said a spokesman for Eli Lilly, which sells Humalog and Humilin, according to PBS. "The insulin market in the US is highly competitive."

A Novo Nordisk spokesman told PBS "we set price for these life-saving medicines independently and then negotiate with payers and [pharmacy benefit managers] to ensure patients have access to them. We stand by our business practices."

A Sanofi spokeswoman said the company "sets the prices of our treatments independently."

In April, the Journal of the American Medical Association released a study that found that “the mean price of insulin increased from $4.34/mL in 2002 to $12.92/mL in 2013—a 200% increase."

Now, Liberals and liberal reporters may not be the most mathematically astute people in the world but the price increase listed above is obviously 300% not 200%.

The three companies have raised insulin prices steadily in recent years, according to Kasia Lipska, an endocrinologist at the Yale School of Medicine.

"From 2010 to 2015, the price of Lantus (made by Sanofi) went up by 168 percent; the price of Levemir (made by Novo Nordisk) rose by 169 percent; and the price of Humulin R U-500 (made by Eli Lilly) soared by 325 percent," Lipska wrote in February for the New York Times.

Cummings and Sanders — a former Democratic presidential candidate who challenged rival Hillary Clinton's relationship with pharmaceutical corporations during the primary campaign — alleged that not only have insulin prices skyrocketed, but that the few companies who effectively have the insulin market cornered have colluded in those price hikes. They cited research that found 13 instances since 2009 in which Lantus and Levemir increased within tandem within the US.

"From 2014 to 2015, the price of both Sanofi's Lantus and Nove Nordisk's Levemir reportedly went up by 29.9 percent, and each drug had a wholesale price of precisely $29.82 per milliliter," the letter says.

On Tuesday, after Sanders tweeted out criticism of insulin makers' price jumps, stock for Eli Lilly's Humalog hit a seven-month low.

The Justice Department is already investigating potential price collusion among dozens of generic drug companies, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. 

"We are concerned that the potential coordination by these drugmakers may not simply be a case of 'shadow pricing,' but may indicate possible collusion, and we believe this egregious behavior warrants a thorough investigation," the letter stated.