By Nuria Safont

Copyright hellomagazine

If you’re concerned about dementia and how to prevent it, you’re not alone – the numbers show that it’s on the rise. According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, there were 55 million people living with dementia in 2020, and that number is expected to almost double every 20 years – that means nearly 140 million suffering with dementia worldwide by 2050. It’s no wonder that, whether you have severe brain fog or find yourself suddenly forgetting people’s names, every symptom can trigger fear of more serious cognitive decline. More and more of us are wondering what steps we can take, if any, to protect ourselves from eventually facing a dementia diagnosis.

Neurologist Dr Pablo Quiroga Subirana highlights one of the main factors in dementia, our diet, and a specific category of foods which may be most problematic. “There’s growing scientific evidence supporting the link between ultra-processed foods and dementia,” he says. These products, so common in modern diets these days, are packed with sugars, saturated fats and artificial additives that not only harm our hearts but also accelerate brain ageing and boost the risk of Alzheimer’s.

In fact, studies have shown that people who consume more than 20 per cent of their daily calorie intake through ultra-processed foods exhibit more rapid cognitive issues, particularly with executive functions and memory.

How do ultra-processed foods affect the brain?

“The main culprit is the chronic inflammation these foods produce,” explains Dr Quiroga Subirana. When we consume products rich in trans fats, refined sugars and chemical additives, we trigger an inflammatory response in the body. This inflammation doesn’t just affect our cardiovascular system; it also damages brain structures and helps accelerate their deterioration. As such, one consequence of this inflammation is the harmful build-up of proteins, such as beta-amyloids, in the brain.

“These proteins accumulate abnormally in the brain, leading to premature ageing of brain tissue,” explains the expert. Excessive consumption of refined sugars can also trigger insulin resistance, which is a factor that directly affects our neurons and is also associated with the onset of dementia.

Factors that make things worse

While ultra-processed foods can be detrimental, generally speaking, combining them with other poor lifestyle habits may make you even more vulnerable. “If we combine a diet rich in ultra-processed foods with a sedentary lifestyle, packed with stress and lacking sleep, we’re creating a perfect storm for cognitive decline,” warns the neurologist. However, the good news is that we can counteract these effects, and prevention is to a large extent in our hands. “Regular physical activity and a diet rich in antioxidants are two powerful weapons to keep the brain young and healthy, even in old age,” he adds.

Protecting your brain: where to start?

The question many of us ask, then, is how to avoid the damage caused by ultra-processed foods and protect our brain health. “The answer is simple: we should avoid consuming them as much as possible,” recommends the doctor. Although it might seem complicated, reducing the presence of these foods in our diet is easier than we think.

The first tip is to read every product’s label and check the ingredients. If a product is rich in sugars and unhealthy additives, leave it on the shelf and look for healthier alternatives. Opt for unprocessed, natural foods such as those included in the Mediterranean diet: olive oil, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, legumes, fish, lean meat and additive-free proteins like eggs. In most cases, it’s best to prepare meals at home from scratch to the extent you’re able to. That way, you have total control over what goes onto your plate.

‘Hidden’ red flags in ultra-processed foods

It’s not always easy to identify an ultra-processed food. Here’s an easy tip: the more ingredients there are listed on the label, the more likely it is to fall under that category. These foods also contain a large amount of sugars and fats to make them more appealing – and even addictive – but unless we’re very vigilant we may not be aware of how much they contain. According to Dr Quiroga Subirana, there are several ways that additives like sugar, fats or salt are camouflaged in the labels of ultra-processed products. Essentially, we’re tricked into thinking our snacks may be healthier than they are when companies make these unwanted ingredients less obvious on the packaging.

1. Alternative names for sugar

Product labels often include alternative forms of “sugar”, from sucrose to maltodextrin – which is a processed carbohydrate that can cause spikes in blood sugar – that the average consumer might not immediately recognise. Having various names for ingredients that are essentially sugars makes it difficult for shoppers to realise the true amount of sugar the product really contains. Since the sugar is represented by a collection of several different ingredients, it might be prevented from leading the ingredients list even if it should.

When you read product packaging look out for terms like:

High-fructose corn syrup

Maltodextrin
Concentrated fruit juice

2. Use of modified or processed fats

The labelling of fats can also be confusing. Partially hydrogenated oils or trans fats, which are used to improve the texture, flavour or shelf life of many industrial food products, sometimes appear on labels as:

Hydrogenated vegetable oil

Interesterified fat

Consumers may want to avoid these fats and oils, as they can be detrimental to both cardiovascular and brain health.

3. ‘Camouflaged’ added salt

These types of ingredients contribute to increasing the total sodium content in the product without you necessarily realising you’re consuming additional or excessive salt. Salt can be camouflaged under names like:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Sodium phosphate
Sodium bicarbonate
Sodium benzoate

4. Misleading serving sizes

Be sure to pay close attention to unusually small serving sizes on packages; the amount of unhealthy ingredients could be minimised by reducing the portion size guideline in the nutritional information. That means that a product might appear lower in sugar, salt or fats when in reality, the amount consumed will likely be much greater since people tend to consume more than the label’s serving size indicates.

5. ‘Healthy’ marketing

Companies often label products with terms like “low fat,” “no added sugar,” or “high fibre” to give the impression they are healthy options. However, many of these products still contain high amounts of hidden sugars, artificial sweeteners or unhealthy fats. For example, a “no added sugar” product might contain agave syrup or fruit concentrates, which, in terms of metabolic impact, function very similarly to sugar.

6. Use of additives with technical names

For the average consumer, it’s difficult to interpret certain scientific-sounding additives although if you’ve looked at the label of processed foods you may have noticed the use of emulsifiers, stabilisers or preservatives like lecithin, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids. Many of these additives are linked to negative effects on gut, metabolic or cardiovascular health.

About the expert:

Dr. Pablo Quiroga Subirana is an expert in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology who lives in Almería, Spain, where he is a specialist at Torrecárdenas University Hospital. He is the author of Spanish-language books including The Young Brain (Cerebro Joven) and Epilepsy: Truths and Myths ( Epilepsia: Verdades y mitos), and is currently a specialist at the Torrecárdenas University Hospital.