tldr:
- Eating processed foods changes brain chemistry
- And it makes you eat 500 to a thousand more calories per day
- Changes body composition
Ultra-processed foods fundamentally disrupt our brain, cellular, and metabolic health.
They now make up nearly 60% of the average American’s diet and contribute to 90% of added sugar intake. Studies link them to hypertension, obesity, cancer—including breast cancer—and increased all-cause mortality.
Kevin Hall’s (
@KevinH_PhD
) research has shown that when people eat highly processed foods, they consume up to 500 more calories per day.
And the effects happen fast. A new study found that just 5 days on a high-calorie ultra-processed diet led to:
- A 63% increase in liver fat, despite no change in body weight.
- Altered insulin activity in the brain, impairing metabolism.
- Diminished reward sensitivity and reduced white matter integrity in regions controlling motivation, cognition, and impulse control.
The shocking part? These changes—resembling those of a brain from someone with obesity—persisted for up to a week after cutting out ultra-processed foods and returning to a regular diet.
Even in a group of healthy, normal-weight men, short-term overeating of calorie-dense but nutrient-poor snack foods profoundly changed brain behavior and metabolism. Imagine what years or decades of a poor diet can do.
Study DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01226-9
The Rolex Life 
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