What Ultra Processed Food does to your GUT-BRAIN
I am on a mission to encourage everyone to eat whole clean foods and take the time to cook at home!
We all want to be able to focus, learn and think clearly and to do that we need to do better at saying no to the convenience/fast and processed foods. It might seem like quick and easy in the short term, however over time this stuff is causing Metabolic Mayhem. These foods are destroying our Gut-Brain axis and our Health.
What Ultra Processed Food does to your GUT-BRAIN
New research suggests links between ultra-processed foods—such as chips, many cereals and most packaged snacks at the grocery store—and changes in the way we learn, remember and feel. These foods can act like addictive substances, researchers say, and some scientists are proposing a new mental-health condition called “ultra-processed food use disorder.” Diets filled with such foods may raise the risk of mental health and sleep problems.
A diet high in ultra-processed foods has been linked with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, but researchers are still figuring out exactly why, beyond calorie counts and nutrient composition.
Craving ultra-processed foods
Many ultra-processed foods hit the brain rapidly when we eat them and have a strong effect on its reward system, which is involved in pleasure, motivation and learning.
Many ultra-processed foods act like addictive substances, similar to ones when people use nicotine, alcohol and other addictive drugs. We crave them and can have a hard time stopping eating them, research has indicated.
The way foods are produced might partly explain why. To make items such as chips, breakfast cereals and snack bars, manufacturers often break down the cellular structure of ingredients, stripping them of water and fiber, making them easy to chew, eat and digest quickly. The components hit our brains fast, which makes the foods more addictive. When we don’t chew our food we don’t signal the brain to release digestive enzymes or signal satiety.
The combination of high levels of both fat and carbs in many ultra-processed foods is likely another reason why we crave them and have a tough time stopping when we eat them.
ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS ARE NOT FOODS FOUND IN NATURE
Chocolate, ice cream, french fries, pizza and chips are among the top foods that people report eating in an addictive way, according to studies. Many of these are high in both refined carbohydrates and fat, a combination that isn’t typically found in nature. Foods in nature are often high in fat or carbs, but not both.
The Snacks Study
In a recent study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers primed participants with two different kinds of snacks and saw how their brains later responded to a cue for a high-fat, high-sugar food, which many ultra-processed foods are.
Scans of their brains showed that the participants who ate a high-fat, high-sugar snack for eight weeks had much higher activity in parts of the brain that create dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in motivation, learning and expecting and experiencing rewards.
This created cravings for these foods and a constant need for a “Dopamine Hit”. An imbalance in the brain can lead to disorders like ADHD and ADD. This study also demonstrates why we keep eating those foods even when we know better. This also explains why as parents you can have a hard time convincing your kids to eat healthy food once they have been exposed to these ultra processed foods.
In a different study, four days of having a breakfast high in saturated fat and added sugar was linked to reductions in performance on some learning and memory tests and participants experienced the blood sugar rollercoaster all day long.
People who started their day with a savory breakfast didn’t have the performance changes. Here is a link to this newsletter if you missed it on the value of a Simple Morning Routine.
Ultra-processed foods and mental health
Mental health is also affected by diet. Several recent studies have found a link between diets high in ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of depression. A large review of research published last month in the journal BMJ found an increased risk of depression, anxiety and sleep problems with diets high in ultra-processed foods.
What Ultra Processed Food does to your GUT-BRAIN
One of the main ways diet affects mental health is likely via the gut microbiome, The gut microbiome refers to the microbes that live in the digestive tract. It influences immune function, the stress response system and the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, all of which affect mental health.
To sum it all up. Food can be medicine for the body or it can be the cause of a lot of problems. It is also important to focus on timing and quantity.
Ultra processed/Fast food is a tough habit to kick for all the reasons mentioned above. Not sure where to start. Here is a link again to this newsletter if you missed it on the value of a Simple Morning Routine.
Three simple and high quality supplement suggestions:
- Gymnema to help blunt sugar cravings
- NeuroRegenex for a brain health support
- Enzycore or Enzymix Pro for Digestive support
PURCHASE HIGH QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS
Have a Healthy Week
Dr Pia
