Some foods you might be eating daily can actually DAMAGE
your brain over time. In this article, we'll explore foods
that HARM your brain vs foods that PROTECT your brain.
by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Co-Author of the best seller:
The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
First, the BAD NEWS...
Certain foods you eat can indeed harm your brain, both in
impaired learning ability as well as impaired memory.
Even worse, the wrong food and drink choices throughout your
life can even lead to the terrible and deadly disease
of Alzheimers.
A friend of mine just told me that her dad died of Alzheimers
recently and it was just a terrible disease where he didn't
even know who she was anymore towards the end.
It's time our society starts taking degenerative diseases
like Alzheimers, cancer, and heart disease more seriously
throughout our lives, and not just once it's too late.
Even in our 30's, 40's, and 50's, the choices we make with our
daily food can PREVENT these terrible diseases.
So let's dig in with the topic today of foods that harm your brain,
and what you can do about it...
Food #1 that HARMS your brain: Fructose
In a 2012 UCLA study published in the Journal of Physiology,
researchers found that a diet high in fructose over time can
damage your memory and learning ability.
Beyond the harm to your brain, it's well known in the research
world that a high fructose diet can also cause insulin resistance
in your body over time, and possibly lead to type-2 diabetes and
extra body fat. If that's not enough, a high fructose diet also
detrimentally affects your triglyceride levels in your blood as
well as small dense LDL particles that cause plaque in your arteries.
So what we have here is high-fructose intake = impaired memory and
learning in your brain, increased risk of diabetes, and increased
risk of heart disease. Oh, and we forgot to mention extra belly fat too...
Yum - who wants another can of soda pop or a large bowl of corn syrup
sweetened ice cream!
The average person eating a modern western diet of processed food
consumes a LARGE quantity of fructose without even thinking about it
from all of the soft drinks (high fructose corn syrup typically),
sweetened juice drinks, orange juice, processed junk foods such as
cakes and candies, as well as the HFCS that's added to store-bought
salad dressings, breads and cereals, and even condiments like ketchup.
Note that many sports drinks, even though marketed as "healthy", can
have large amounts of corn syrup or even crystalline fructose as their
main sweetener. These sports drinks can be equally as bad as a soda for
your body and your brain. Don't be fooled by the clever marketing showing
pictures of pro athletes guzzling this stuff.
Also note that agave syrup (aka, agave nectar) which is marketed as
a "healthy" sweetener as well, is one of the most concentrated forms of
processed fructose in sweeteners as well. I personally stay away from
agave sweeteners as much as possible unless the amounts are very small.
All of these fructose-laden foods and drinks are easy to avoid though if
you choose to eat consciously... for example, make homemade salad dressings
from your favorite olive oil and vinegar with added spices, or choose to
drink unsweetened iced tea with lemon instead of sweetened drinks or juices.
If you use a lot of ketchup, try to reduce the quantity by mixing with mustard
or hot sauce, which typically don't contain HFCS sweetener in any significant
quantities.
Last thing to note about fructose... Yes, natural whole fruits do
contain fructose, but generally contain MUCH smaller quantities of
fructose than you would consume in a sweetened juice drink, soft drink
or sweetened junk foods. Also, the phytonutrients, antioxidants, and
fiber that's contained in most whole fruits counteracts any negative
effects of fructose. I personally try to keep fruit intake to no more
than 1-2 pieces a day due to the sugar and fructose content of larger
amounts of fruit.
Here's a trick: Did you know that limes and lemons contain virtually
zero fructose, and only 3-4 grams of total carbs in a whole lemon or lime,
whereas a typical orange contains 6 grams of fructose and 25 grams of total
sugar per fruit.
I squeeze lemons and limes daily into either water or teas for a healthy
flavorful drink. Fresh lemon juice has even been shown to control blood sugar
response from a meal...another bonus!
Other Foods that HARM Your Brain:
You probably already know some of the harmful health effects
of these foods, but long term effects on your brain are yet another...
Trans fats -- strongly inflammatory in your entire body including
damage to cell membranes throughout your body.
Avoid hydrogenated oils in processed foods and deep fried foods.
Mercury -- studies show that mercury from pollution (coal burning
plants are the biggest source of mercury pollution to air and water)
and from fish that are high on the food chain such as tuna, shark,
swordfish, tilefish, etc can possibly cause long term negative effects
on your brain. Limit these types of fish to a couple times a month and
focus more on fish such as salmon, trout, and many other types of smaller
fish to reduce your mercury load.
Wheat-based foods -- In the groundbreaking book, Wheat Belly,
Dr William Davis makes a very convincing argument that wheat has addictive
properties in the brain. Wheat contains compounds termed "exorphins" that
have an effect in your brain similar to opiate drugs.
This explains why people have such a hard time giving up their beloved breads,
cereals, pasta, and muffins because these foods are mildly addictive.
I know personally from past experience that if I have have a pasta dinner,
I'll go back for seconds and thirds as I just can't seem to stop eating the stuff.
And then hours after dinner, I'll get cravings for more carb-based foods or sweets.
But if I pass on the pasta and just have meat, veggies, and salad,
I find myself totally satisfied after dinner with no cravings later at night.
The good news is...
There are plenty of superfoods, herbs, and spices that can protect your
brain and your other organs too!
In fact, did you know that turmeric is one of the highest antioxidant
spices that also exhibits brain-protecting effects? In India, where curry
containing turmeric and other spices is eaten daily, rates of Alzheimers
disease is among the lowest in the world, proving some of the brain-protecting
effects of turmeric.
In addition, the powerful DHA and EPA omega-3 fats in fish oil has been
proven in countless studies to protect your brain from damage over the years.
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