{"id":3582,"date":"2026-11-04T10:33:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/?p=3582"},"modified":"2026-11-04T10:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:33:36","slug":"canadian-study-2026-ultra-processed-foods-and-their-effect-on-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johannevezina.com\/en\/canadian-study-2026-ultra-processed-foods-and-their-effect-on-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian study 2026: ultra-processed foods and their effect on brain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most recently, a Canadian study of 8,783 adults aged 35 to 69 years<\/strong> showed that a higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher percentage of fat mass and adipose visceral tissue (tissue that surrounds and protects major internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas, stomach, intestines and kidneys), as well as<\/strong>  a higher risk of cerebrovascular injury<\/strong><\/a>. *<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this study, people who had nearly half of their daily food intake made up of ultra-processed foods appeared to be 40% more likely to experience cerebrovascular damage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Cerebrovascular lesions are abnormalities or damage to the blood vessels in the brain that cause no visible or immediate symptoms.<\/strong> In two years, there will be a follow-up to this study, but it would be a shame not to act on it now, because it is never too late to improve our nutrition<\/a> and health!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the link to the<\/strong> radio interview to which Denis Duchesne and his team invited me<\/strong><\/a> and the rest of the text down below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy listening\/reading :)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an<\/strong> ultra-processed food<\/strong><\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are products made from ingredients that are not found in our kitchen, such as hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, food colours, natural or artificial flavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultra-processed foods are usually high in sugar, salt and\/or fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples include soft drinks, sweet or salty packaged snacks, candies, chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, very sweet breakfast cereals, ice cream, enveloped dry soups, certain hot dogs, chips, etc\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to recognize ultra-processed foods?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some questions to ask ourselves to help identify which foods are ultra-processed when we go to the grocery store:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Where is the ingredient list?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Is the ingredient list short, easy to read and easy to understand?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Does the ingredient list contain foods that I recognize?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Could these ingredients end up in my kitchen? If the answer is no, it’s probably an ultra-processed food.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Let’s make an example together to identify if one of these two peanut butters is an ultra-processed food:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Peanut butter, regular, creamy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I invite you to see if these ingredients could be found in your kitchen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Natural peanut butter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is the list of ingredients: 100% Roasted selected peanuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    #2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regular peanut butter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is the list of ingredients: Roasted peanuts, soybean oil, corn maltodextrin, sugar, hydrogenated cottonseed and rapeseed vegetable oil, salt, mono and diglyceride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As you may have noticed, the list of ingredients for peanut butter #1 is shorter than that of peanut butter #2. The latter includes ingredients that are not found in our kitchen, such as mono and diglyceride. It is therefore an ultra-processed food.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What drives us to eat ultra-processed foods, among other things?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The rising cost of food makes it difficult for families and Canadians to eat healthy meals that are whole-food and include a variety of fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7 Solutions to eat less ultra-processed foods:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here 7 other strategies to help us reduce our consumption of ultra-processed foods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n