An article earlier this 12 months within the European Journal of Vitamin reported that prime consumption of ultra-processed meals is linked to worse-than-average efficiency on one specific check of cognitive perform in older U.S. adults (60+ years-old) who didn’t have continual ailments resembling diabetes or heart problems. The actual check was “Animal Fluency.” By no means heard of it? Me both. Maintain studying.

The research included 2,700 members, common age 69. Members have been requested to recall what they ate within the prior 24 hours. Meals have been “labeled in line with NOVA, a meals classification primarily based on the extent and objective of commercial meals processing, into 4 mutually unique teams: (1) unprocessed or minimally processed meals, (2) processed culinary components, (three) processed meals, and (four) UPFs [ultra-processed foods].”

Extremely-processed meals? “…most meals described as “Frozen meals” or “Lunchables”, in addition to some objects described as consumed in “Restaurant quick meals/pizza” or acquired at a “Merchandising machine” have been labeled as UPFs.” Moreover, the authors write within the introduction that “UPFs, in line with NOVA classification system, are industrial formulations of processed meals substances (oils, fat, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that include little or no complete meals and usually embrace flavourings, colourings, emulsifiers, and different beauty components. UPFs have gotten dominant in diets globally and are changing conventional diets primarily based on unprocessed and minimally processed meals.

Of the complete research inhabitants at hand, UPFs have been about half of all energy consumed however ranged from 30 to 70%.

“Cognitive efficiency was assessed utilizing the Consortium to Set up a Registry for Alzheimer’s Illness (CERAD), Phrase Studying check, Animal Fluency check, and the Digit Image Substitution check (DSST).”

The Animal Fluency check “evaluates categorical verbal fluency (govt perform).” “For the Animal Fluency check, the participant is requested to call as many animals as attainable inside a 60-s [60 seconds, I assume] time interval. Every animal corresponds to 1 level and the result’s offered as the entire sum of factors.”

The check topics got two different assessments of cognitive perform however the investigators discovered no variations in efficiency primarily based on ultra-processed meals consumption. Listed here are these different two assessments:

The 2 elements of the CERAD Phrase Studying check include (1) three consecutive studying trials, the place the participant is requested to recall an inventory of ten unrelated phrases instantly after their presentation. Every phrase corresponds to 1 level, and the result’s offered as a complete rating throughout the three trials (vary zero–30); and (2) a delayed phrase recall check, carried out after the 2 different cognitive assessments. The end result ranges from zero to 10. … For the DSST, the participant is offered a single sheet of paper the place they’re requested to match an inventory of 9 symbols to numbers in line with a key situated on the highest of the web page. The duty had 133 numbers and the participant had 2 min to finish it. The result’s proven as the entire variety of appropriate matches. For all of the assessments, greater scores symbolize higher cognitive perform. 

The authors conclude: “Consumption of UPF was related to worse efficiency in Animal Fluency, a cognitive check that assesses language and govt perform in older adults with out pre-existing ailments resembling CVD [cardiovascular disease] and diabetes, whereas no associations have been noticed for these with these circumstances. Whereas longitudinal research are required to supply stronger proof, these outcomes recommend that lowering UPF consumption could also be a method to mitigate age-associated cognitive decline and cut back the chance of dementia.”

I agree these outcomes aren’t very sturdy.

Steve Parker, M.D.

h/t Jan at The Low Carb Diabetic weblog