It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Ultra-processed food intake linked to silent strokes in healthy middle-aged adults, study finds
HAMILTON, Ont. - Healthy adults who eat high amounts of ultra-processed food, like packaged snack foods, sugary breakfast cereals, soft drinks, instant noodles, and ready-to-eat frozen meals, are more likely to have signs of damage to the brain that may increase the chances of clinical stroke and future memory problems.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of nearly 9,000 people and detected tiny areas of damage more frequently in participants who ate the most ultra-processed food compared to those who ate the least. Participants with the highest intake were 40 per cent more likely to show these changes, which produce no obvious symptoms but are considered early warning signs that can appear years before a stroke or memory problems begins.
"I would not have expected this finding, frankly. We studied middle-aged Canadians who had no heart problems and reported no other health concerns,” said Russell J. de Souza, first author of the study and an associate scientist at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, and associate professor in Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact and the Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine at McMaster University.
“Usually, this kind of damage is associated with conditions we hear about and treat at a much older age."
Published in JAMA Network Open on Oct. 15, 2026, the PHRI led study enrolled Canadians between the ages of 35 and 69 with no history of heart disease from communities across Canada.
Participants who ate the most ultra-processed food also carried more body fat and more deep belly fat than those who ate the least. This type of abdominal fat is linked to inflammation and blood vessel damage that can also reach the brain.
The association between ultra-processed food and brain damage appeared stronger among women. Those in the highest consumption group were nearly twice as likely to show signs of brain damage compared with those in the lowest group.
"Our findings suggest that the link between diet and brain health may be detectable before people experience noticeable problems with memory or thinking," said Sonia Anand, senior author of the study and senior scientist at PHRI. “This adds to the growing evidence that what Canadians eat in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s shapes their brain health later in life.”
Researchers classified foods according to the extent and purpose of industrial processing used in their production. Ultra-processed foods are often high in sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats, while providing relatively low amounts of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Their convenience, widespread availability, and intensive marketing may contribute to higher consumption, particularly among time-constrained and lower-income households, potentially widening existing health inequalities.
"For many Canadians, ultra-processed food is often a convenient and affordable option. But our findings suggest that diets high in these foods may be linked to brain changes that may lead to memory loss and stroke as Canadians grow older," said Anand.
In this study, ultra-processed foods made up an average of about 25 per cent of participants' daily food servings. For the heaviest consumers, that increased to 45 per cent of everything on their plates, compared with just 16 per cent for those who ate the least.
Researchers found that as the consumption of ultra-processed food increased, that of whole food decreased. Fruits, vegetables, grains and other minimally processed foods made up 41 per cent of daily servings among participants with the highest consumption of ultra-processed food, compared with 68 per cent among those with the lowest consumption.
“People who ate more ultra-processed foods weren’t simply eating more on top of their usual diet. These foods appeared to crowd out healthier whole foods,” added de Souza.
The findings suggest a link between ultra-processed food consumption and signs of brain changes. However, because participants were only assessed once and weren’t followed over time, researchers couldn’t determine whether ultra-processed foods directly caused these changes.
“We need longer-term studies that track people over time with repeated MRI scans to find out whether reducing ultra-processed food intake can slow or prevent these brain changes,” said de Souza. “Such follow-up is ongoing.”
The study was supported by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, with additional support from participating research institutions and partner organizations across Canada.
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Media Inquiries
As PHRI is a joint institute of Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University, media inquiries may be directed to either:
Adam Ward, media relations officer with McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences (warda17@mcmaster.ca).
Ultraprocessed Food Intake and Adiposity, Vascular Brain Injury, and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults
Article Publication Date
15-Oct-2026
Total ultra-processed food intake not linked to colorectal cancer in large US cohort study
Associations varied by UPF type, with whole grain and dairy sources associated with lower CRC incidence and meat sources associated with higher incidence
Credit: Anthony Lewis (www.anthony-lewis.com), PLOS, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Overall ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption was not associated with increased colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in a cohort of more than 400,000 U.S. adults, according to a study published October 15th by Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute, U.S., and colleagues in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.
Ultra-processed foods account for more than half of energy intake among U.S. adults and have attracted growing attention due to potential links to chronic diseases, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, UPFs represent a wide range of foods. Some, like whole grain and dairy products, are associated with a lower risk of CRC while others, like processed meats, are associated with a higher risk.
To better understand these relationships, researchers analyzed data from 461,682 adults aged 50 to 71 years enrolled in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study between 1995 and 1996. Participants recorded their eating habits using a food frequency questionnaire that researchers used to estimate UPF intake. Participants were then followed until 2018, a median of 18.8 years.
The study found no association between overall UPF intake and CRC incidence. However, findings differed by type of food. Higher intake of whole grains, fiber, dairy products, and calcium derived from UPF sources was associated with lower CRC incidence, whereas meat from UPF sources was associated with higher incidence. Researchers also found that replacing 10% of gram weight from UPF intake with minimally processed foods was associated with a 2% lower CRC incidence.
The researchers caution against generalizing these findings to younger, more diverse populations. The study cohort included primarily older, white Americans and only measured UPF intake once at baseline. As a result, the findings cannot account for changing eating habits or the increasing availability in UPFs, potentially leading to an underestimation of actual UPF intake.
The study suggests that UPFs should not be treated as a monolith and reinforce current dietary guidance emphasizing whole grains, fiber, dairy, and calcium while limiting processed meat intake to reduce the risk of CRC.
Loftfield adds, “In this large population of older US adults, we did not observe an association between total ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and colorectal cancer incidence; however, when we looked at food groups, like whole grains, dairy, and meat, by UPF or non-UPF source, we found that associations were in line with current dietary guidance for colorectal cancer prevention such that higher whole grain and dairy but lower meat intakes were associated with lower colorectal cancer incidence. ”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Medicine: https://plos.io/3UImuuv
Citation: Abar L, O’Connell CP, Hong HG, Herrick KA, Kahle L, Lerman JL, et al. (2026) Associations of food processing and dietary risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: A cohort study. PLoS Med 23(10): e1005251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1005251
Author countries: United States, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Australia
Funding: The research leading to these results received funding from the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (EL): https://www.cancer.gov/research/nci-role/intramural. Authors LA, CPO, HGH, LML, SZ, RS, and EL are/were employees of the funder, the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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