“How, one might ask, would eating a cheeseburger and french fries with a soda, munching on fried pork rinds, sharing a bucket of fried chicken, or chowing down a sleeve of commercially made cookies, affect my brain?” said Dr. Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

When people eat ultra-processed foods on a regular basis, they are unlikely to get the fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that their bodies need to be healthy, fight disease and reduce inflammation, she said.

“Ultimately, this can affect how well our brains work because they need a steady supply of these macro- and micronutrients to function properly. We can’t mentally muscle our way through poor nutrition,” Heller explained.