Junk food junkies who down excessive amounts of ultra-processed grub are putting their brains at risk — and increasing their odds of dying prematurely!
That’s the finding of researchers led by Harvard University professor Mingyang Song, whose international team analyzed data from 115,000 people who stuffed their faces with industrially crafted products, such as cookies, doughnuts, potato chips, white bread, frozen meals and processed meats — including hot dogs and bacon.
Experts say such foods, which often contain high amounts of fat, salt and/or sugar, are designed to trigger cravings — but are especially low in nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The scientists determined folks who consumed seven or more daily servings of ultra-processed products had a slightly higher risk of untimely death and an eight percent increased likelihood of dying from neurodegenerative conditions — such as multiple sclerosis, dementia and Parkinson’s disease — than those who ate more natural meals.
Earlier research has linked consumption of junk food to rapid weight gain, which ups the odds of at least 32 medical conditions — including cancer, type two diabetes, heart disease and dementia.
University of Auckland nutrition experts Kathryn E. Bradbury and Sally Mackay, who were not part of the research group, penned an editorial bashing manufacturers, which accompanied the published study. They charge, “Our global food system is dominated by packaged foods that often have a poor nutritional profile.
"This system largely serves the goals of multinational food companies, which formulate food products from cheap raw materials into marketable, palatable, and shelf-stable food products for profit!”