Eating 5 Ounces of This Food May Affect Your Attention, Finds New Study

Ultra-processed foods are “associated with increased risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and high LDL cholesterol, which are major contributors to dementia risk that collectively account for approximately 12% of all dementia cases globally.”

This was a big part of the premise for an April 2026 study conducted among 2,192 participants in Australia, then published by the Alzheimer’s Association. Ahead, see what these results could mean for you.

What researchers learned

A team of nutrition, public health, and brain researchers analyzed diet questionnaires completed by the participants, who were between 40 and 70 years old. The researchers then assessed the participants’ cognitive function via a 15-minute computerized test, as well as a health-scoring system based dementia risk factors weighting metrics like age, education level, cholesterol values, and more.

Overall, ultra-processed foods accounted for 41% of caloric intake and 21% of the weight of all foods and drinks.

Upon analysis, the study authors found an association between a higher intake of ultra-processed food and poorer attention scores. The text further elaborates that “Given that a 10% increase in [ultra-processed food] intake corresponds to approximately 150 g/day (equivalent to a standard packet of potato chips)”—or 5.3 ounces—the results indicate that “even small daily increases” in this type of eating “may have measurable cognitive consequences with an impact on dementia risk.”

Interestingly, they observed no link between ultra-processed foods and memory potential. That may sound reassuring, but in the Discussion section of the study, the team also cited previous research that employed neuroimaging and discovered associations between diet and reduced mass in major areas of the brain responsible for memory.

What this means for you

For anyone curious about what they could dial back on to maximize attention capacity, the authors list, in this sequence, the most-consumed processed foods among the participants: dairy-based desserts and drinks, soft drinks, sweetened beverages, packaged salty snacks and potato products, “reconstituted processed meat,” and ready-to-eat meals. (This may include types bought at supermarket delis or heat-and-eat frozen foods, as examples.)

As for what we should eat more of for a healthy brain, this group of experts repeatedly mentions the Mediterranean diet as a gold standard, as well as foods that benefit the gut—and, therefore, via the gut-brain axis, may help nurture a healthy neurological system.

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