Processed food, Cognitive Decline, and Physical Therapy

Processed food, Cognitive Decline, and Physical Therapy

By Dr. Sean M. Wells, DPT, PT, OCS, CNPT, ATC/L, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, Cert-DN

Many physical therapists (PTs) work with geriatric clients that have cognitive decline. Our mainstay intervention for these patients typically is aerobic exercise, which promotes perfusion to the brain and can enhance memory and processing. While this intervention is fantastic, what if there could be other means to improve cognition in our older patients, or even prevent cognitive decline in the first place? That's where nutrition comes in!

A new study published shows that ultra-processed foods increase the odds of cognitive decline in middle aged adults. That’s right: middle-aged adults, a major group of patients that doctors of physical therapy (DPTs) work with, are at risk for declining cognition due to food. Ultra processed food has gotten a lot of publication recently. Dr. Kevin Hall has spoken extensively on this topic, as his NIH funded research has shown that ultra-process food has been significantly linked to weight gain. Ultra processed foods have been associated with other diseases like diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and cardiovascular heart disease. Ultra-processed foods include things such as burgers, pizza, french fries, hot dogs, ramen noodles, candy bars and white bread. While many Americans think that they consume a small amount of this ultra processed food, several studies show that most Americans consume up to 50% of their calories in ultra processed foods daily. This is most likely due the fact that ultra processed foods are very high in calories and are typically very convenient to find.

The study, which was presented in early August at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in San Diego by Natalia Gonçalves, PhD from the University of São Paulo, followed roughly 10,000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. Her team found men and women who ate the most ultra processed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared with people who ate the least amount of overly processed food. The total percent of calories consumed from ultra processed foods compared to the rest of the diet and those with the biggest decline was around 20%. As such, reducing calories consumed for ultra processed foods below 20% of total calories, or around 400 to 500 calories, would likely reduce cognitive decline over time. For comparison, a small order of fries and regular cheeseburger from McDonalds contains a total of 530 calories.

So what does this mean for DPTs? Obviously we can continue to recommend cardiovascular exercise, but we also need to talk to patients about reducing their percentage of calories they eat from processed foods. Educating them on swapping frozen pizzas, donuts, and hot dogs with healthier options like brown rice bowls, fruits, and lentils will likely help them maintain their cognitive status throughout their life. Whole foods are always a better option, and providing such general nutrition recommendations to most patients is completely appropriate for any healthcare provider with basic nutrition training.

If you like what you see here then know there is more in our 3 board-approved continuing education courses on Nutrition specific for Physical Therapists. Enroll today in our new bundled course offering and save 20%, a value of $60!

Download Your Copy of the Free E-Book:

Learn about the Top 5 Functional Foods to Fight Inflammation and Pain in Physical Therapy. 

Keywords: nutrition, diet, continuing education, Alzheimers, cognition, neuro, PT, physical therapy, learning, NCS, rehab, processed food, DPT

Photo by Anna Tarazevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-eating-a-hotdog-sandwich-with-fries-5093855/

Disclaimer: The above article is written as an opinion piece and does not convey specific legal, medical, and/or practice act advice.