Unhealthy Foods May Outweigh the Benefits of a Healthy Diet

(Newswire.net — March 8, 2022) Orlando, FL — There is a wide selection of unhealthy food nowadays being studied by researchers due to their dangerous effects on health. 

According to research, unhealthy foods may counteract the positive effects of a healthy diet

The researchers from the Rush University Medical Center have reported there were diminished benefits produced by a Mediterranean diet among individuals with a high frequency of eating unhealthy foods. 

The findings of this research were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Eating a diet that emphasizes vegetables, fruit, fish, and whole grains may positively affect a person’s health,” said Puja Agarwal, Ph.D.

“But when it is combined with fried food, sweets, refined grains, red meat, and processed meat, we observed that the benefits of eating the Mediterranean part of the diet seem to be diminished.”

Agarwal is a nutritional epidemiologist and assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush Medical College. 

In previous research, a Mediterranean diet has been shown to be linked with reduced rates of cognitive decline in older individuals. 

This observational study actually included 5,001 older adults in Chicago who were part of the Chicago Health and Aging Project

The project is an assessment of cognitive health in adults over the age of 65 carried out from 1993 to 2012. 

Every three years, the subjects were made to complete a cognitive assessment questionnaire that tested basic information-processing skills and memory. They also filled out a questionnaire about the frequency with which they consumed 144 food items.

“Western diets may adversely affect cognitive health,” Agarwal said. “Individuals who had a high Mediterranean diet score compared to those who had the lowest score were equivalent to being 5.8 years younger in age cognitively.”

More studies are still underway to look into the roles many foods play on overall health and disease protection. It is worth keeping in mind that some foods like mushrooms have been found particularly protective to health.

Lion’s mane is one of the mushrooms being widely studied by researchers today. This therapeutic mushroom has long been linked with a myriad of health benefits. 

Some studies have shown it has neuroprotective, cardiovascular-health enhancing, anti-inflammatory, cognitive-decline-fighting, nerve repairing, blood-pressure-lowering, immunity-boosting, cholesterol-regulating, and weight management properties.

Extra-strength formulas like Divine Bounty Lion’s Mane could be an excellent choice for individuals who want to benefit from the healing goodness of this remedy.

This food has also been found to protect the immune system and offer anti-aging benefits (amazon.com/Organic-Lions-Mane-Mushroom-Capsules/dp/B07LGR1KN7).