A new review has found that consuming just two slices of deli meat each day is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Published in the August 2026 issue of the Annual Review of Nutrition, the study examined various human and animal studies, including one involving nearly 500,000 people in the U.K. The review indicated that each additional 25 grams of processed meat consumed daily is linked to a 44% higher risk of all-cause dementia and a 52% higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. This quantity roughly equates to one to two slices of deli meat, depending on the thickness of the slices.

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Conducted by an international team of 27 researchers, the review aimed to explore how diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) might impact brain health over time. UPFs include items such as sugary drinks, packaged snacks, and other heavily processed foods, which often contain ingredients like emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial colors. Processed meats, including deli meats, were specifically examined in connection with brain health.

Lead author Owen Carmichael, Ph.D., from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, emphasized the need for more scrutiny in the food supply, noting that some UPFs are engineered to such an extent that they resemble pharmaceuticals. However, they do not undergo the same level of evaluation as medications before entering the market.

Carmichael mentioned two primary theories regarding the relationship between UPFs and brain health. First, UPFs may adversely affect cardiovascular health, which in turn influences brain function. He pointed out that a healthy heart contributes to a healthy mind. The review concluded that diets rich in UPFs could accelerate brain aging, although further research is necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms. In addition to potential impacts on brain health, Carmichael cited that UPFs can harm various bodily systems.

The review acknowledges that much of the evidence linking processed meat to dementia remains observational and cannot establish a causal relationship. Despite this, Carmichael's guiding principle—