Ultra-Processed Foods Destroy Our Mental Health And Cognitive Ability. Here Are 5 Simple Swaps To Better Your Brain Health

Recent studies have shown that ultra-processed foods not only cause adverse mental health symptoms but could also worsen your risk for dementia. Packaged foods in America are overwhelmingly classified as ultra-processed, with over 70% of all grocery store picks fitting the bill. This might not be such a big deal if these products didn’t make up almost 60% of all calories that Americans consume, but alas, our culture is obsessed with our packaged snacks, sugary beverages, and ready-to-eat meals.

Researchers found that those who ate the least ultra-processed foods reported far fewer mental health complications. Similarly, when researchers replaced ultra-processed foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods, their risk for dementia decreased.

How Do I Know What’s Bad and What’s Good?

If you want to understand the differences between ultra-processed foods, processed foods, minimally-processed foods, and unprocessed foods, look no further than the NOVA food classification, which categorizes food and beverages based on the nature, extent, and purpose of their processing.

Your minimally-processed and unprocessed foods are things like bulk grains, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried pastas, fresh, chilled, or frozen meats and seafoods, fresh or pasteurized milk, plain beans and legumes, and more. Processed culinary ingredients are things like butter, lard, seed and vegetable oils, honey, maple syrup (from trees!), refined salt, and more. Processed foods look more like beef jerky, canned fruits in syrup, salted nuts and seeds, canned fish, smoked meats, freshly-made cheese and bread, fermented beverages, and more. Then there’s ultra-processed foods, things like chocolates, candies, sports drinks, sodas, packaged snacks, pre-prepared meats, pizzas, pastas, nuggets, shelf-stable breads, margarine, flavored yogurts, infant formulas, and the list goes on and on.

"The ultra-processing of food depletes its nutritional value and also increases the number of calories, as ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, saturated fat and salt, while low in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals,” explained a co-author of the mental health study, Eric Hecht, M.D. Ph.D. 

It would make sense then that when simple dietary swaps were made, results looked positive across the board. 

“Our results also show increasing unprocessed or minimally processed foods by only 50 grams a day, which is equivalent to half an apple, a serving of corn, or a bowl of bran cereal, and simultaneously decreasing ultra-processed foods by 50 grams a day, equivalent to a chocolate bar or a serving of fish sticks, is associated with 3% decreased risk of dementia,” said the author of the other dementia study, Huiping Li, Ph.D., of Tianjin Medical University in China.

Those who ate the least ultra-processed foods reported far fewer mental health complications.

Researchers did acknowledge the fact that the categorization of processed foods can be challenging. They gave the example of how a type of soup might be classified one way if it’s homemade and classified another if it’s canned. Similarly, they noted that the level of quality in diet and ingredients might not align perfectly with the level of processing. Looking back at the NOVA classification, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that freshly-made cheese is arguably a higher-quality, more nutrient-dense food choice even though it’s classified as processed. 

Nevertheless, if we know that ultra-processed foods wreak havoc on our mental health and cognition, we should be aware of as many simple swaps to reach for when we’re craving a particular product, so here are five for you to jumpstart your move to better health.

1. Soft Drinks

Most sodas contain toxic ingredients that, when consumed infrequently in small amounts, aren’t necessarily harmful to the body. However, when they’re consumed habitually in larger volumes over time, they could pose major health risks. 

Caramel colors that are used in dark colas or root beers have been found to increase rates of tumors in rats; brominated vegetable oil (a.k.a. flame retardant) can cause reproductive issues, nerve problems, and skin lesions; high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) slows your brain down, makes it harder for you to learn and retain new information, and has been linked to obesity; sodium benzoate has been linked to cell damage, cell aging, metabolic diseases, dizziness, hyperactivity, trouble sleeping and light-headedness. Regular consumption of artificial sweeteners from sodas also has been shown to increase risk of stroke.

Do you find it hard to give up fizzy drinks? Here are a few different options for you to try.

• Sparkling Water. Here’s your healthiest swap of them all since plain carbonated water is calorie-free and sweetener free. If you’re still craving that citric acid feeling that you’d normally get from soda, try squeezing a bit of lime juice, lemon juice, or grapefruit juice into your sparkling water for a deliciously refreshing, natural spritzer. Your best bet for sparkling water is brands like The Mountain Valley, which are pH balanced and packaged in dark glass.

• Kombucha. Fermented teas have beneficial probiotics in them, which make for a happier gut microbiome. Not all kombuchas are made equally, however, and some have significant amounts of unnecessary, added sugars and might not be safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Your best bet for kombucha would be to first make it on your own, but if you prefer to buy a bottle in store, then try Health-Ade or GT’s.

• Coconut Water. Coconut water is super hydrating and contains natural electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and manganese that give you the effect of a sports drink without all those man-made ingredients. Your best bet for coconut water would be Harmless Harvest’s plain, organic variety because it doesn’t contain any added sugars or additional ingredients. 

• Prebiotic Sodas: So-called “healthy” sodas use ingredients like apple cider vinegar or prebiotic roots to boost your gut health. They’re still fizzy and arguably quite tasty without containing as many bizarre ingredients as sodas. Your best bet for these “sodas'' is Poppi Healthy Sparkling Prebiotic Soda or OLIPOP because of their more nourishing ingredients and great flavors.

2. Yogurts

You’d think that yogurt, a fermented milk product, would be great for your body, but many commercial brands contain ultra-processed ingredients that ravage your gut and brain health.

Most yogurts contain significant amounts of real, unnecessary sugars as well as artificial sweeteners, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup. As I mentioned before, HFCS poses a risk to your mental capacities and, when eaten regularly, is converted to fat in your body. Furthermore, why does yogurt need to have food dyes like red #40 or blue #1 that are known to be toxic and may contribute to attention disorders?

Why does yogurt need food dyes that are known to be toxic and may contribute to attention disorders?

Your best bet if you want to eat yogurt is to switch to Greek yogurts with no added ingredients like Siggi’s Icelandic-Style Skyr, Maple Hill 100% Grass-Fed Organic Greek Yogurt, or Wallaby Organic Aussie Greek Whole Milk Plain Yogurt. Quick word of warning: These will likely be thicker and much more tart than the yogurts you’re used to, so try adding a bit of fresh fruit or raw, organic honey for sweetness.

Another big reason why you should swap out commercial, sweetened yogurts for plain or higher-quality Greek yogurts with natural additives is because beneficial bacteria from the probiotics in yogurt can positively improve brain function. Researchers have discovered that the brain and the gut send signals to one another, so if you’re eating something like Greek yogurt which has beneficial properties for gut flora it will positively affect your brain as well.

3. Condiments

Condiments can make or break an otherwise bland meal. Some of us (like yours truly) don’t mind a less saucy dish, but others prefer to have something to dip meats, starches, or veggies into. That said, condiments can easily be thought of as harmless, calorie-free, and consequence-free additions to your meals, but some of the most commonly used condiments contain potentially harmful ingredients.

Let’s start with mayonnaise. Whether spread on a burger bun or used to dip “chips” in (looking at you, Brits), mayo has the potential to be a nutritious condiment. Commercial brands strip an otherwise innocent product of its nutritional ingredients and instead sub in harmful oils like vegetable and seed oils that negatively affect your neurological system. Many mayos also contain high fructose corn syrup.

You know what else is rife with HFCS? Many top ketchup brands. Bottled ketchup isn’t as innocent as we think it is and is frankly a butchered version of a condiment which could contain a greater nutritional quality from tomatoes, herbs, and vinegar.

Your best bet for bottled condiments from the grocery store are brands like Primal Kitchen, Braggs, Eden Foods, or Annie’s. Enjoy flexing your creativity in the kitchen? Try making homemade ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and more using ingredients you can source at local markets.

4. Bread

Alright, bread…I’ve been over this one before. I fundamentally don’t believe people should fear carbs, but there are legitimate qualms worth having with store-bought carbs. Carbs (even bread) won’t make you fat, but modern bread brands enrich their recipes with excess vitamins and toxic additives like ADA (a carcinogenic DNA disrupter) or preservatives that cause cognitive issues and headaches. The list of suspicious ingredients in Big Bread could go on and on.

Neurologist David Perlmutter penned a book titled Grain Brain which asserts that the origins of brain diseases are often dietary and that the high-carb diet we’ve grown used to in modern America could be the culprit. He explains how fat-based, rather than carb-heavy diets, are oftentimes used for therapy when treating many neurodegenerative diseases. In his opinion, we should take more of an all-or-nothing approach for optimal brain health, but in my non-expert opinion, you can still enjoy carbs if you’re doing them right.

Modern bread brands enrich their recipes with excess vitamins and toxic additives and preservatives.

Your best bet if you don’t have time or resources to bake your own bread is to buy better bread when you go to the supermarket. My personal favorite is Food For Life’s Ezekiel Bread, but there are many other brands across the nation that have short, clean ingredient labels free from preservatives and are sprouted so they have fewer anti-nutrients.

A few reasons why Ezekiel style sprouted grain breads are my go-to bread choices are because they’re sprouted, which makes it easier for your body to digest, they’re a quality source of natural fiber which keeps you regular, the sprouting allows for more absorption of magnesium, iron, copper, calcium, and zinc, and of course, they are higher in protein content while containing all essential amino acids. Zero added sugars, zero additives, and zero preservatives combined with quality carb and protein sources makes for a great swap when wanting to enjoy bread while looking to better your brain health.

5. Cereals

Most cereals, despite some “heart healthy” label claims, are ultra processed and are equal parts addictive and destructive. From inflammatory palm and soybean oils, sugar content not too far off from a bag of gummy candies, corn syrups to sweeten the taste, artificial flavors and colors, and enriched, bleached, and preservative-ridden flours like corn flour, cereal is tasty but has little to no nutritional qualities beyond filling up your stomach.

Reaching for a sugar-packed cereal at breakfast time might give you a quick dopamine rush from a temporary spike in neurotransmitters, but you’ll likely come down from the sugar rush and feel worse. Research suggests that you can grow dependent on the dopamine rush from a daily binge of ultra-processed carbs.

That said, the same train of thought that applies to bread applies to cereals as well! Not all products are evil, and restricting yourself from enjoying them entirely may not be a sustainable diet choice for the long haul. A moderate amount of processed carbs won’t destroy your health, especially if you pick ones that focus on ingredient quality over mass-production quantity.

Your best bet beyond plain oats would be grocery store staples like Nature’s Path Organic Cereals, Forager Grain-Free Cereal, Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Cereals, or Purely Elizabeth Cereals. Take Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes cereal, for example. It’s a favorite of mine, and for good reasons. The carb load consists of all-organic ingredients such as KAMUT Khorasan wheat, quinoa, millet, spelt, oats, and barley. While the brand uses sugar and honey, the total sugar content in one serving is only 5g, which is far less of a load on your cognitive health.

Closing Thoughts

While correlation does not prove causation, it’s in your best interest to better your dietary choices for optimal brain health and cognitive capabilities. From adverse mental health symptoms that can make or break how your day goes, like bouts of anxiety and depression to serious, neurodegenerative disorders like dementia, reducing your intake of ultra-processed foods and substituting with processed, minimally-processed, or unprocessed foods could keep you on a bright path. 

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