Eating Processed Foods For One Month Alters The Brain In This Worrying Way
Here’s a question for you: what impact do you think ultra-processed foods have on your body? Well, a doctor named Chris van Tulleken aimed to find out. Over the course of an entire month, he predominantly lived on items in that category. And the results were startling, as scans showed van Tulleken’s brain had radically changed.
Who knew that food could do that? It’s shocking, to say the least. Keeping that information in mind, you’re probably wondering what products come under the processed and ultra-processed foods umbrella. There’s quite a bit actually, so it might be an idea to grab a pen for this next part!
For comparison, items such as fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, grains, seafood, nuts and herbs are all considered to be unprocessed foods. As per the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada website, that’s the stuff you should try to build your eating regimens around. They’re both healthy and tasty, which is a welcome combination.
Meanwhile, products like cheese, baked potatoes, bread, flour, tofu and canned corn are part of the processed foods category. Why? Well, it’s pretty simple. If an item takes on additional salt, oil or sugar during the production stages, it’s no longer considered to be unprocessed. Packaging plays a role in that, too.
Now, don’t panic – if your diet includes a number of those food items, there’s not much to worry about. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, these things won’t necessarily harm your body. Phew! But ultra-processed foods are a very different story. The name alone probably gives that away.
