It’s well-known that ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are not good for overall health — but new research has uncovered further evidence that this diet could negatively impact the brain.

The study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia by the Alzheimer’s Association, revealed that UPFs are linked to more than 30 adverse health outcomes, including several dementia risk factors, like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Researchers from Australia’s Monash University analyzed more than 2,000 dementia-free Australian adults between the ages of 40 and 70, comparing their diets to cognitive function.

BLOOD PRESSURE AND DEMENTIA RISK SHARE SURPRISING LINK, STUDY SUGGESTS

They found that each 10% increase in UPF intake was associated with lower attention scores and higher dementia risk, regardless of whether the adults typically followed a healthy diet, like the Mediterranean diet.

There was no significant link found between UPF consumption and memory.

By identifying food processing as a contributor to poorer cognition, the study “supports the need to refine dietary guidelines,” the researchers concluded.

DR NICOLE SAPHIER ON ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS IN AMERICA: ‘PEOPLE PROFIT OFF ADDICTION’

As the data was self-reported, this could pose a limitation to the strength of the findings, the team noted.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, discussed how diet has a “powerful impact” on the brain.

“Your brain is an energy-hungry organ,” he said. “It uses about 20% of the calories you consume, so the quality of those calories matters.”

Food is either “medicine or poison,” according to the doctor, who called out ultraprocessed foods like packaged snacks, soft drinks and ready-made meals that tend to be higher in sugar, unhealthy fats, additives and low-quality ingredients.

DEMENTIA RISK FOR PEOPLE 55 AND OLDER HAS DOUBLED, NEW STUDY FINDS

These foods can promote inflammation, insulin resistance, poor blood flow and oxidative stress, all of which are “bad for the brain,” according to Amen.

The brain expert noted that the study revealed even a 10% increase in ultraprocessed food intake – equivalent to roughly a pack of chips per day – was linked to a “measurable drop in attention, even when people had otherwise healthy diets.”

“Attention is the gateway to learning, memory, decision-making and problem-solving,” Amen said. “If you can’t focus, you can’t fully encode information.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

The “big takeaway,” according to the doctor, is to “love foods that love you back.”

“You may love the taste of chips, cookies and candy, but they don’t love you (or your brain) back,” he said. “Ultraprocessed foods may claim to be sugar-free, low-carb or keto-friendly, but researchers noted that ultraprocessing can destroy the natural structure of food – and can introduce additives or processing chemicals that may affect cognition.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Amen suggests sticking to real food that grows on plants or animals, instead of food “made in plants.”

“Build meals around colorful vegetables and fruits, clean protein, healthy fats, nuts, seeds and high-fiber carbohydrates,” he recommended. “Start by replacing one ultraprocessed food per day with a brain-healthy option.”

That might mean swapping out chips for nuts, soda for water or unsweetened green tea, and packaged sweets for berries. “Small choices done consistently can change your brain and your life,” the doctor emphasized.

As UPFs have been shown to worsen several dementia risk factors, Amen stressed that people at risk of cognitive decline should “get serious about prevention as early as possible.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“If you have a family history of dementia, memory concerns, diabetes, high blood pressure or weight issues, your diet is not a side issue – it’s a primary brain-health intervention,” Amen said.

“Remember, you’re not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better, and it starts with the next bite.”

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

Fox News Digital reached out to the study researchers for comment.

Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.

Use escape to exit the menu.

Months after revealing his stage 4 cancer diagnosis, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse is speaking out about an experimental therapy that could extend his life.

Sasse, a Republican who represented Nebraska between 2015 and 2023, shared in December 2025 that he has metastatic pancreatic cancer, which has spread to multiple organs — including his liver and lungs.

After initially being given three to four months to live, Sasse, 54, entered a clinical trial for a drug called daraxonrasib, an oral therapy (pill) that is designed to block the defective gene that triggers uncontrolled cellular growth.

CANCER SURVIVAL APPEARS TO DOUBLE WITH COMMON VACCINE, RESEARCHERS SAY

The California-based drugmaker, Revolution Medicines, recently shared data from a phase 3 clinical trial of people with metastatic pancreatic cancer who did not respond to standard chemotherapy. 

Patients on the treatment lived a median of 13 months, compared to around six months for those who continued with chemo.

“I have much, much less pain than I had four months ago when I was diagnosed, and I have a massive 76% reduction in tumor volume over the last four months,” Sasse told “60 Minutes” in a recent interview.

Daraxonrasib works by going after a key growth “switch” in many cancers called RAS, according to Sarbajit Mukherjee, M.D., chief of gastrointestinal medical oncology at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. 

MAN WITH STAGE 4 CANCER RAISES $150K FOR EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT

“In pancreatic cancer, that switch is stuck in the ‘on’ position in the vast majority of tumors, constantly telling the cancer cells to grow and spread,” the doctor, who was not involved in the trial and did not treat Sasse, told Fox News Digital.

“Daraxonrasib is designed to bind to RAS in its active state and turn down that signal, which can slow or shrink the cancer.”

“The drug is in the final stages of clinical trials, where it has been shown to double the survival of those previously treated for metastatic pancreatic cancer.”

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose early because there are generally no symptoms — or only subtle gastrointestinal symptoms — until it is already widespread, according to Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst.

“This is the first-of-its-kind targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer,” Siegel, who also was not involved in the research or the senator’s treatment, told Fox News Digital. “The drug is in the final stages of clinical trials, where it has been shown to double the survival of those previously treated for metastatic pancreatic cancer.”

Mukherjee noted that the survival boost seen in the trial is a “big difference” for a disease that typically has much shorter survival times.

“From my perspective, as someone who treats pancreatic cancer every day, daraxonrasib is the first targeted pill in this disease that truly feels like a step change rather than a small incremental improvement,” he said.

“It opens the door to much more personalized strategies going forward. For a cancer where progress has been painfully slow, it could reshape how we care for patients with advanced disease.”

RECTAL CANCER DEATHS RISING UP TO THREE TIMES FASTER IN SPECIFIC AGE GROUP, STUDY FINDS

While current chemotherapy options can shrink pancreatic tumors and help people live longer, they are “tough,” Mukherjee noted — “and once they stop working, our options are limited and survival is usually measured in just a few more months.”

Early data also suggest that when daraxonrasib is combined with standard chemotherapy as the first treatment, there is more shrinkage of tumors and more patients doing well at six months than they typically would only with chemotherapy.

If the drug is approved, it will likely become an important option for patients when standard chemotherapy stops working, Mukherjee suggested.

“Ongoing trials are now asking whether it should also be used as part of the very first treatment plan,” he added.

NEW CANCER VACCINE SHOWS PROMISING RESULTS FOR CERTAIN PATIENTS

Although the drug is described as “well-tolerated” compared to chemotherapy, the doctor noted that, like any strong cancer drug, daraxonrasib has side effects. 

“The ones we see most often include rash, diarrhea, mouth sores and fatigue, with patients needing regular blood tests and close follow‑up while on treatment,” Mukherjee said. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

In the clinical trials, most of these problems have been managed by adjusting the dose or adding supportive medications.

“The limitations are important to be transparent about — it is still not yet FDA‑approved, and it is not a cure,” Mukherjee noted. 

“Over time, most cancers will eventually find ways to grow around the drug.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

In addition to daraxonrasib, which he calls a “miracle” drug, Sasse credits his faith for helping him beat his original prognosis.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

“It’s weird to be in your early 50s and get a terminal diagnosis, and people all of a sudden act like you’re 93 or 94, and you have a lot of wisdom,” he said. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“I don’t know that I have a lot of wisdom, but I have a lot of things that I think we should be reflecting on together.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sasse for further comment, and to the head of the clinical trial as well.