{"id":60893,"date":"2026-06-15T14:20:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T06:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=60893"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T06:20:43","slug":"how-ultra-processed-foods-increase-your-dementia-risk-and-healthy-items-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=60893","title":{"rendered":"How ultra-processed foods increase your dementia risk, and \u2018healthy\u2019 items to avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\"><em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">This is the 91st instalment in<\/em> <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\"><em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">a series on dementia<\/em><\/span><em data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa15\">, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope<\/em><\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">What we put on our plates does far more than fuel our bodies \u2013 it affects our heart health, inflammation levels, hormone regulation, blood pressure, sleep quality and mood.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Each of these elements is a major risk factor for dementia. Dr Helen Macpherson, an associate professor at Deakin University\u2019s Faculty of Health in Australia, rates diet an 8.5 out of 10 in terms of its importance for long-term brain health.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cDiet has a direct effect on the brain in terms of the nutrients we supply it with,\u201d Macpherson says, noting that a poor diet also acts as an indirect driver of chronic conditions that slowly erode cognitive function.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-12vv9w2 e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dr Helen Macpherson, an associate professor at Deakin University\u2019s Faculty of Health, says \u201cdiet has a direct effect on the brain\u201d. Photo: dementia.org.au\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/06\/15\/6eb468f9-e78e-4cee-9f9c-ffe807f6dfc2_7fe47634.jpg\" title=\"Dr Helen Macpherson, an associate professor at Deakin University\u2019s Faculty of Health, says \u201cdiet has a direct effect on the brain\u201d. Photo: dementia.org.au\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1bj5zno e1gf69pb1\">Dr Helen Macpherson, an associate professor at Deakin University\u2019s Faculty of Health, says \u201cdiet has a direct effect on the brain\u201d. Photo: dementia.org.au<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">While most of us can easily identify a healthy meal \u2013 one packed with <span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds<\/span> \u2013 fewer realise how well a toxic diet can masquerade as a nutritious one. From yogurts packed with hidden sugars to fitness bars loaded with preservatives, dietary appearances can be deceptive.<\/div>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\">The four tiers of food<\/h3>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Macpherson, who has published studies on the impact of diet on brain health in midlife, uses the internationally recognised Nova scale to identify these hidden hazards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/health-wellness\/article\/3357104\/how-ultra-processed-foods-increase-your-dementia-risk-and-healthy-items-avoid?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the 91st instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2839,4112,191,10469,1780,1357,1567,10225],"class_list":["post-60893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-avoid","tag-dementia","tag-foods","tag-healthy","tag-increase","tag-items","tag-risk","tag-ultraprocessed","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}