More than your appearance, what you put in your mouth affects your brain. The food you eat can increase your brain power, stimulate cognitive function and improve your memory. On the other hand, some foods can have a devastating effect on your brain, and it’s best to consume them moderately, to limit their negative impact. So, avoid these common foods if you want a healthy brain!
Number 1 - Sugar Sugar and sugar rich foods can affect your memory and your intelligence in the long run, not to mention that they can also lead to a variety of different neurological problems over the years. In a nutshell, sugar is known to decrease the brain activity by interfering with the insulin’s capacity to help the brain cells do their normal work, thus leading to memory loss. The more sugar you consume, the more prone you are to experiencing learning impairment or memory loss over the years. Besides this, the addictive nature of sugar is widely known to everybody, and this has some severe long-term consequences that take their toll on one’s cognitive skills.
Number 2 - Trans Fats Trans fats cause a series of problems, from heart-related issues to elevated cholesterol and obesity. However, they are bad for your brain as well, as they make your brain more sluggish, they affect your reflexes and the quality of your brain response. Not to mention that they increase the risk of stroke! Trans fats can also have other effects on your brain - if consumed for too long, they can result in a sort of brain shrinkage that is somewhat similar to the shrinkage caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Number 3 - High Sodium Foods Everybody knows that salty foods affect your blood pressure and they are very hard on your heart. However, research suggests that food that contain high amounts of salt can affect your cognitive function and impair your ability to think. Otherwise stated, salty foods affect your intelligence! As a matter of fact, the consumption of salty foods have been shown to have the same effects as drugs, as they cause harsh withdrawal symptoms and cravings for salty foods.
Number 4 - Fast Food While convenient, fast food is anything but healthy. Plus, it can make you fat, given the high number of calories. Beyond that, fast food contain ingredients that, in high doses, are bad for your brain. This includes trans fat, saturated fat, sodium, sugar, and a shit load of fillers you can’t even pronounce. It’s been shown that prolonged fast food consumption can affect the production of dopamine, which is commonly referred to as the hormone of happiness. And if the brain’s natural production of dopamine is affected, this can lead to anxiety and depression. In addition, fast food can also affect your capacity to focus, your overall learning capacity as well as your memory, which may speed up the cognitive decline that normally appears as we age.
Number 5 - Foods That Contain Pesticide Residue Fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest foods you can eat. But, commercially grown fruits and veggies are commonly contaminated with pesticides. Increased intake of foods that contain pesticide residue leads to loss of neurons in some areas of the brain. And long-term exposure to pesticides can kill brain cells and trigger symptoms that are linked with Parkinson’s disease.
Number 6 - Tuna Do you still eat tuna because you think it’s good for you? Well, the latest scientific research shows that eating tuna can be hazardous to your health. Tuna flesh is loaded with heavy metals because of the contaminated fish they eat. Tuna fish also accumulate toxic mercury in their flesh as a result of industrial pollution. The side effects of mercury poisoning include cognitive impairment and coordination problems. So, the toxicity greatly outweighs any possible health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.
Number 7 - Microwave Popcorn Who doesn’t love popcorn?! It’s fast, convenient and delicious. But, microwave popcorn is possibly the absolute worst food for your brain! It usually contains butter flavoring with the additive Diacetyl. It’s already established that this chemical causes a serious condition called “microwave popcorn lung.” But, Diacetyl is also able to cross the blood-brain barrier, a defense which prevents harmful substances from entering the brain. It causes beta-amyloid clumping which is a significant indicator of Alzheimer’s. You won’t see the word Diacetyl on the label, but if you see “artificial butter flavor” or “natural flavors” on the label, assume the product contains this neurotoxin.
Number 8 - Processed Foods The food additives, preservatives, and food dyes contained in processed foods have a negative impact on cognitive functions and behavior in children. Artificial food additives consist of about 3000 different chemicals that are added to processed foods. And among the popular additives, MSG - which is used to emphasize the flavor of the foods, can wreak havoc on your brain health, attacking the brain stem. Naturally, consumption of these foods isn’t beneficial for your health and things get even worse when you eat this type of food on a daily basis.
Number 9 - Soy This may come as a surprise to many, but this so called healthy bean can be harmful if consumed in large quantities. Studies have found evidence that a high consumption of soy has a negative effect on the brain, especially for those over 68. Although it is not entirely clear what effect soy products have on the aging brain, soy seems to heighten the risk of dementia and lower memory function.
Number 10 - Artificial Sweeteners When people try to lose weight, they have a tendency to think that they’ll become slim overnight by simply replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners. While it is true that artificial sweeteners do contain less calories, they can actually do more harm than good! If used for an extended period of time, artificial sweeteners can cause brain damage and interfere with your cognitive capacity, especially if you use it in high amounts. The bottom line is, these really are the worst foods to eat, and most of them should come as no surprise. So, try to avoid or at least limit your consumption of these foods to preserve your brain health as you age.
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