BRAIN HEALTH AND PROCESSED MEATS
Higher intake of processed meats (bacon, hot dogs, salami) is linked to increased dementia and cognitive decline risk, potentially due to nitrites, saturated fats, and sodium, while replacing them with nuts, legumes, or fish may lower risk, showing dietary shifts can promote brain health.
Why Processed Meats Are Harmful
High Saturated Fat & Salt: Contributes to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and stroke risk, all damaging to the brain, note Henry Ford Health and this Neurology® journal article.
Nitrates & Preservatives: Chemicals used for curing might negatively impact brain health, say The Times and this Brain & Life article.
TMAO: Bacteria break down L-carnitine in red meat into TMAO, a compound potentially linked to dementia development, note this Neurology® journal article and this MedLink Neurology article.
Key Risks for Brain Health
Dementia Risk: High consumption (e.g., a quarter serving daily) is linked to a 13-14% increased risk of dementia, notes.
Cognitive Decline: Linked to worse performance in memory, language, and executive functions, say AAIC and this Virginia Tech article.
Research On Connections
“Higher intake of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with a higher risk of developing dementia and worse cognition” Source: Neurology.org
BIOLOGICAL AGING AND PROCESSED MEATS
Processed meats are meats that have been preserved by smoking or salting, curing or adding chemical preservatives. Unfortunately, when these processed meats are preserved, cancer-causing substances form. Eating these meats can damage your DNA, raising your cancer risk. Foods to avoid include hot dogs, corned beef, bacon, sausages, salami, beef jerky and ham.
Research On Connections
“A diet rich in UPF was associated with an acceleration of biological aging in a large sample of Italian adults. The poor nutritional composition of highly processed foods weakly accounted for this association, suggesting that biological aging could be adversely influenced by nonnutrient characteristics of these foods” Source: ScienceDirect.com
“Processed meats contain nitrites and purines which increase inflammation and lead to joint pain” Source: Eat This Not That
“Eating a hot dog could cost you 36 minutes of healthy life according to a recent study conducted by health researchers at the University of Michigan” Source: CNN
Accelerated Cognitive Aging: Each extra daily serving adds about 1.6 years of cognitive aging for overall function and 1.7 years for verbal memory, say Mass General Brigham researchers and AAIC.
RECOMMENDED HEALTHY AGING PROTOCOL
“I Eat Processed Meats”: Answer = Never