A new study from Harvard University suggests that eating high quantities of ultra-processed foods, like processed meats and sugary drinks, may increase the risk of early death.

They combined data from two large-scale population-representative studies that analyzed the diets and cognitive function of more than 10,000 participants ages 55 and older from China and the U.S. The data included diet questionnaires that honed in on the average of participants' total daily intake of several different types of foods,

Ultra-processed foods are bad for more than your waistline: New research shows they seem to raise the risk of stroke and dementia -related memory or thinking problems. A 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods a person eats is associated with a 16% higher risk of cognitive problems, researchers found.

A new study published this week from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston finds that consuming ultra-processed foods may also increase a person’s risk for stroke and cognitive decline.

Although higher consumptions of ultra-processed foods were associated with greater risks of stroke and cognitive decline, high consumptions of unprocessed, whole foods were linked to a decline in these health conditions.

These findings underscore the potential long-term impact of dietary choices on brain health and cardiovascular events.

The levels of food processing is associated with cognitive impairment and stroke, according to a study published online May 22 in Neurology. Varun M. Bhave, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the associations between ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) and incident cognitive impairment