Cognitive Decline Linked to Ultra-processed Foods 认知能力的下降与超加工食品有关

Eating ultra-processed foods for more than 20% of your daily calorie intake every day could set you on the road to cognitive decline， a study revealed.

We all know eating ultra-processed foods—such as prepackaged soups， sauces， frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals—isn’t good for our health. Nor is gobbling up all the pleasure foods that we love so much： hot dogs， sausages， burgers， French fries， sodas， cookies， cakes， candies， doughnuts and ice cream， to name just a few.

Studies have found they can raise our risk of obesity， heart problems， diabetes and cancer. They may even shorten our lives.

Now， a new study has revealed eating more ultra-processed foods may contribute to overall cognitive decline， including the areas of the brain involved in executive functioning—the ability to process information and make decisions.

In fact， people who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared with people who ate the least amount of overly processed foods.

一项研究揭示，如果超加工食品在你每天摄入的卡路里中占比超过20%，你可能就会逐渐出现认知下降。

超加工食品，如预制的汤、酱料、冷冻比萨和快餐，对我们的健康有害。而那些带给我们愉悦并被我们大口吞下的食品，比如热狗、香肠、汉堡、炸薯条、苏打水、饼干、蛋糕、糖果、甜甜圈和冰激凌等，同样对我们的健康没好处。

研究发现，吃超加工食品会让我们增加患肥胖、心脏病、糖尿病和癌症的风险，甚至还可能会缩短我们的寿命。

目前，一项新的研究发现，摄入大量的超加工食品可能会导致整体认知能力下降，认知能力包括与执行功能有关的大脑区域，执行功能是指加工信息并做出决策的能力。

事实上，摄入最多超加工食品的人的整体认知能力和执行功能的下降速度要比那些摄入最少超加工食品的人分别快28%和25%。

“While in need of further study and replication， the new results are quite compelling and emphasize the critical role for proper nutrition in preserving and promoting brain health and reducing risk for brain diseases as we get older，” said Rudy Tanzi， professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in the US and director of the genetics and aging research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US. He was not involved in the study.

Tanzi said the key problem with ultra-processed foods is that “they are usually very high in sugar， salt and fat， all of which promote systemic inflammation， perhaps the most major threat to healthy aging in the body and brain.”

“Meanwhile， since they are convenient， they sometimes replace eating food that is high in plant fiber that is important for maintaining the health and balance of the trillions of bacteria in your gut microbiome，” he added， “which is particularly important for brain health and reducing risk of age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.”

没有参与该研究的美国哈佛大学医学院神经学教授、美国麻省总医院基因学和老年研究部主任鲁迪·坦齐表示：“尽管还需要进一步的研究和重复实验，但这项新的研究结果非常具有说服力，它强调了适当的营养对于维持和促进大脑健康并减少在年老过程中大脑出现疾病方面的重要作用。”

坦齐指出，超加工食品最大的问题在于“它们通常高糖、高盐、高脂肪，所有这些会加速全身性炎症。而全身性炎症也许是身体和大脑正常老去的最大威胁。”

“同时，由于超加工食品非常方便，因此，它们有时取代了那些富含植物纤维的食品，这些植物纤维对于维持肠道微生物群体的健康和数万亿肠道细菌的平衡非常重要。”他补充表示：“这对于维持大脑健康和降低患阿尔茨海默病等与衰老有关的大脑疾病尤其重要。”

The study followed over 10，000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. Over half of the study participants were women and college educated， while the average age was 51.

Cognitive testing， which included immediate and delayed word recall， word recognition and verbal fluency was performed at the beginning and end of the study， and participants were asked about their diet.

“In Brazil， ultra-processed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. It’s not very different， unfortunately， from many other Western countries，” said co-author Dr Claudia Suemoto， an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil.

Ultra-processed foods are defined as industrial formulations of food substances （oils， fats， sugars， starch， and protein isolates） that contain little whole foods and typically include flavorings， colorings， emulsifiers， and other chemical additives， according to the study.

这一研究在10年时间里跟踪研究了1万多名巴西人。超过半数的参与者为女性、受过大学教育者，平均年龄为51岁。

认知能力测试在研究开始和结束时进行，具体包括即时和延迟词汇回忆、词汇认知、语言流利程度。参与者会被询问他们的饮食情况。

“在巴西，超加工食品占摄入卡路里总量的25%—30%。遗憾的是，巴西人的饮食习惯和许多西方国家的人的饮食习惯并没有太大区别。”研究的合著者、巴西圣保罗大学医学院老年科助理教授克劳迪娅·苏埃莫托博士表示。

根据研究，超加工食品被定义为食物成分（油、脂肪、糖、淀粉糊和分离蛋白）的工业配方，它们几乎不包含全天然食物并且往往含有调味料、色素、乳化剂和其他化学添加剂。

For a person who eats 2，000 calories a day， 20% would equal 400 or more calories—a small order of fries and regular cheeseburger contains a total of 530 calories.

Those in the study who ate the most ultra-processed foods “were more likely to be younger， women， had higher education and income， and were more likely to have never smoked， and less likely to be current alcohol consumers，” the study found.

“We should cook more and prepare our own food from scratch. We say we don’t have time but it really doesn’t take that much time，” Suemoto said.

“It’s worth it because you’re going to protect your heart and guard your brain from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease，” she added. “That’s the take-home message： Stop buying things that are super-processed.”

对于一个每天摄入2000卡路里的人而言，20%的超加工食品相当于400或以上的卡路里——一小份炸薯条和标准大小的奶酪汉堡总共含有530卡路里。

研究发现，摄入最多超加工食品的人“往往是年轻人、女性、受过高等教育者以及高收入者，而且他们几乎从未有吸烟史和饮酒史”。

“我们应该多下厨做饭，而且是用天然食材进行烹饪。我们往往会说我们没时间，但其实烹饪花不了多少时间。”苏埃莫托表示。

“这样做是值得的，因为你在这一过程中保护了自己的心脏并避免自己的大脑患上痴呆或阿尔茨海默病。”苏埃莫托补充道，“这里所传达的一个重要信息是不要再买那些超加工食品了。”

Word Bank

compelling /kəm'pelɪŋ/ adj. 令人信服的

verbal /'vɜːbl/ adj. 言语的

from scratch 从头开始