Too much junk food linked to ‘silent stroke’ by middle age

dpa

You could still be light on your feet, clocking respectable 10k times or not so long retired from competitive sport: after all, some athletes and footballers sometimes can keep going, even at the elite or top level, after turning 40.

But no matter how healthy you are as you enter middle age, gobbling down junk food means not only slacking off on recommended grains and proteins, it could leave you at risk of “silent stroke” and cognitive decline, particularly if snacking on instant noodles, soft drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals and ready-meals is a habit rather than a now-and-then lapse.

After testing around 9,000 people, scientists at McMaster University and the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) found those with the “highest intake” of processed food to be 40% more likely to exhibit a form of brain damage that “may increase the chances of clinical stroke and future memory problems.”

“I would not have expected this finding, frankly,” said Russell de Souza, a McMaster associate professor and PHRI scientist, who said the impact is usually “associated with conditions we hear about and treat at a much older age.”

Processed food made up around 25% of participants’ diets, the researchers said, although some reached 40%, crowding healthy food out of their eating, according to the team, whose work was published in JAMA Network Open, an American Medical Association journal.

“Our findings suggest that the link between diet and brain health may be detectable before people experience noticeable problems with memory or thinking,” said PHRI’s Sonia Anand, warning that what people eat while young could affect their cognitive capacity later in life.

Longer-term tracking, including using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, could be needed to further investigate the connection, the researchers said.

Last month a University of California team called for large-scale tests to confirm a connection between a junk food habit and vulnerability to depression after 20 patients reported improved symptoms such as reduced anxiety after switching to a healthier diet.