Dissecting ultra-processed foods and drinks: Do they have a potential to impact the brain?
Contreras-Rodriguez O, Solanas M, Escorihuela RM (2022) Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 23(4) 697-717. doi: 10.1007/s11154-022-09711-2. Epub 2022 Feb 2.
Abstract:
Ultra-processed foods and drinks (UPF) are formulation of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes. They usually have a low nutrient but high energy density, with a high content of saturated and trans fats, and added sugars.In addition, they have characteristic organoleptic properties, and usually contain sophisticated additives, including artificial sweeteners, to intensify their sensory qualities and imitate the appearance of minimally processed foods. In addition, recent research has warned about the presence of chemicals (e.g., bisphenol) and neo-formed contaminants in these products.
UPF production and consumption growth have been spectacular in the last decades, being specially consumed in children and adolescents. UPF features have been associated with a range of adverse health effects such as overeating, the promotion of inflammatory and oxidative stress processes, gut dysbiosis, and metabolic dysfunction including problems in glucose regulation.
The evidence that these UPF-related adverse health effects may have on the neural network implicated in eating behavior are discussed, including the potential impact on serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission, brain integrity and function.
We end this review by placing UPF in the context of current food environments, by suggesting that an increased exposure to these products through different channels, such as marketing, may contribute to the automatic recruitment of the brain regions associated with food consumption and choice, with a detrimental effect on inhibitory-related prefrontal cortices.
While further research is essential, preliminary evidence point to UPF consumption as a potential detrimental factor for brain health and eating behavior.
FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
This review provides a comprehensive review of the current evidence that ultra-processed foods (UPF) affect brain development and function, as well as physical health.It includes a detailed discussion of numerous potential mechanisms by which characteristic features of these foods - including their high sugar content, unhealthy fat profile, lack of dietary fibre, and the artificial additives they contain - may adversely affect mood, behaviour and cognition.
Animal studies have long shown that modern. western-type diets high in UPF have negative effects on brain development and function - particularly during critical periods such as early life and adolescence. Observations from human studies are in line with these findings.
Mounting evidence from human studies also llnks high UPF consumption with a wide range of behaviour and mental health problems - particularly eating disorders and addictive behaviours, but also anxiety, depression, sleep problems, impulsivity and age-related cognitive decline.
Evidence from human clinical trials in this area is inevitably limited by the huge practical and ethical difficulties of conducting such trials - especially in vulnerable groups, and anything beyond the short-term.
However, significant increases in appetite and weight gain from just 2 weeks of an ultra-processed food diet were shown in a recent rigorously conducted clinical trial in healthy young adults.
The UPF diet led participants to overeat by a massive 500 calories a day (without them being aware of this) compared with a nutritionally matched diet of whole or minimally processed foods.
As a result, the UPF diet led to almost 1 kilo of weight gain in just 2 weeks - as well as increases in a wide range of biomarkers predictive of the metabolic syndrome that precedes both Type 2 diabetes and clinial obesity.
These findings strongly support existing evidence that UPF are both toxic and addictive - and therefore clear candidates for government regulation. This approach is already accepted for other toxic and addictive products like alcohol and tobacco, for which appeals to individuals to use 'willpower' to regulate their consumption is simply not effective.
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