Ultra-processed foods: Stroke, memory issues risk

Okay, there's a new study linking high consumption of ultra-processed foods to brain changes associated with strokes and future memory issues. Researchers found people with the highest intake were 40% more likely to show these changes. Fox Medical Team's Dr. Mike joins us this morning to talk about it. That's got a lot of people concerned, that information. Dr. Mike, we know those ultra-processed foods aren't good for us, I know that, but I didn't necessarily know this. well dave here's the deal a lot of the viewers there are going to be thrilled that i actually brought my brain finally all right now i got this brain from the brain bank probably you're too young to watch young frankenstein but no no the brain bank this abnormal brain abnormal right here all right so let's break this down all right this study looked at people that consumed a lot of ultra-processed foods. What are those? Soft drinks, sliced deli meats, chips, crackers, pre-made dinners, that sort of stuff. Okay, highly processed. Now, we often think about that in terms of our heart, but you have on the inside of your brain, you have all these beautiful arteries and you have vascular disease occurring so if you do that a lot of those ultra processed foods what the study found you have a higher incidence of small vessel disease meaning plaque in your arteries in your brain now that's not good because down the road that can increase your risk of stroke and it can lead to things like dementia memory loss and all of those things so dave i want you to live in life large when you're like 82 i want you climbing mountains man all right so you got to just watch out with a lot of those highly processed foods that's it's something it's not good and in this study some people half of their calories per day were from ultra processed foods not going to live long doing that now again this all i'll confess in the last five minutes during commercial break i ate a protein bar i'd try to think that's not the worst choice i could make it's probably a processed little frosting on it i'm pretty good protein bar you got to cut those things down i know you're a moderation guy you wouldn't say out what what's what's the play there well as my grandfather taught me everything in moderation dave look we're all gonna have i I mean, watching football, you got to have some processed foods. It's a matter of degree. If I mean, if every single day you're half of your calories are coming from a vending machine where you're, you know, this stuff, it doesn't decay. You know, there's a lot of preservatives and salt and sugar and all of that. It's not good for you. So what I want people to do, try to do some home cooking. cooking how about getting some fresh fruits and vegetables and and and cooking something up with the family that's a lot of fun all right and if you throw in a little bit limit the ultra processed stuff i think you're going to be in a much better place remember dave we want you to invest in your health 401k so you can live life large like you're doing already and real quick you're looking good i know this is great. People who have, man, they say I've blown it for years and eating this stuff. You can see these things hopefully start to reverse as you just start making better choices of what you're consuming. Never too late, man. All right. Never too late to show up to the party. So start changing your life. If you smoke, stop it and move on. You're going to improve your health, improve your mood, and you're going to be a much better father, mother, parent, friend, and you're going to live life large. We want to take every single day and live it like your last. And the way to do that is to invest now. Like you're doing, Dave, man. You're doing it. Love it. I have confidence. I'll be ready to climb that mountain, I guess, at 82. That'll be my motivator. That's good pep talk. Dr. Mike, we appreciate it as always. Great advice.