While sweet or salty snacks are fun to eat, a new study has achieved the kind of results that will upset junk food lovers. The study, published in the journal Neurology, revealed that people who consume highly processed foods, such as drinks and chocolate, have a higher risk of developing dementia.

According to the research, those who consume half an apple equivalent of unprocessed or minimally processed foods daily, have a 3% lower risk of dementia than those who consume ultra-processed foods. Consuming less processed or unprocessed foods instead of ultra-processed foods helps reduce this risk.

Consuming just 50 grams more increases the risk of dementia:

The study was not a small-scale study. Scientists examined the health data of 72,083 people within the UK Biobank. These individuals, older than 55 years of age, initially show no signs of dementia. Ten years later, 518 people were diagnosed with dementia. These people consisted of people who consumed excessively processed foods.

Of the 518 people with dementia, 150 consumed an average of 814 grams of highly processed foods per day. Among those diagnosed, 105 were those who consumed very small amounts of highly processed foods. This group consumed an average of 225 grams of highly processed food per day. That is, the consumption of these foods only 50 gramsor even the equivalent of half an apple, increased the risk of dementia.

It includes foods high in added sugar, fat, and salt, and low in protein and fiber, such as ultra-processed foods, soft drinks, salty and sweet snacks, ice cream, hot dogs, fried chicken, canned beans, ketchup, and flavored grains.