The #1 WORST Food that HARMS Your Brain (avoid!)

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 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 lowestin 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.

Want more...
I'll show you how to find dozens of delicious foods, spices, herbs, and unique
nutrients that PROTECT your brain, joints, organs, and skin from aging on the
next page!
These unique nutrients and superfoods can be found at most stores and can help
PROTECT your brain from aging, HEAL your joints, reverse or prevent type 2
diabetes, normalize your blood pressure, SLOW aging of your skin, FIGHT against
developing cancer, FIX years of digestion problems, and even help to BOOST your
metabolism...

If you want to discover these powerful superfoods and nutrients CLICK HERE

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Foods number 2 that Accelerates AGING (beware!)

Do you eat these harmful foods that AGE you faster?  Some are even deceptively marketed to you as "healthy" by giant food corporations.  Avoid or minimize these and look 5-10 years YOUNGER than your real age.

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist & Catherine Ebeling - RN, BSN
Authors of the best seller: The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging


Corn-based foods -- corn syrup, corn cereal, corn chips, corn oil​
This is quite a variety of stuff that you might eat every day... we're talking corn chips, corn cereals, corn oil, and also the biggest health-damaging villain that gets most of the media attention, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
We already talked in detail in the last section about wheat regarding the blood sugar process and it's relation to age-accelerating formation of nasty "AGEs" in your body.
Well, corn-based starchy foods such as corn cereals, corn chips, etc also have a big impact on blood sugar levels and therefore can increase AGEs in your body and accelerate aging.
But here's another nail in the coffin for corn... it turns out that scientists have found out that the fructose in HFCS causes 10x more formation of AGEs in your body than glucose!  Yes, that's right... that means the HFCS you consume daily in sweetened drinks, and most other processed foods (yes, even salad dressings and ketchup) contribute to faster aging in your body... as if you needed yet another reason to avoid or minimize HFCS!
We're not done yet with corn... it gets even worse...
Another major issue with corn-based foods and corn oils is that these foods contribute excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids to your diet, which causes an imbalance in your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio and leads to inflammation and oxidation within your body.
Once again... another example of corn-based foods aging you FASTER.

My advice:  Avoid or reduce corn-based foods like corn chips and corn cereal as much as possible. These aren't as bad as wheat in relation to blood sugar, and they don't contain gut-damaging gluten like wheat does, but they are still bad for you.  When it comes to corn syrup or corn oil, avoid as much as you can if you want to stay lean, healthy and young looking.   
Go to the next post tomorrow to see Food #3 that accelerates aging in your body:

Get your copy of 101 anti-aging foods here  The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

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New Study Reveals LIES about High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Does high-fructose corn syrup make you fatter than sugar?  See this new study and you decide...
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

A "Corny" Lie?
Unless you've been under a rock for the last year or two, you've undoubtedly seen the massive media campaign that the Corn Refiners Association (the CRA) has been running on TV commercials, online ads, etc trying to "clean up" the poor public image of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
They have even tried a re-branding campaign trying to change the name to "corn sugar" instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
In addition, the TV commercials try to convince you that HFCS is "no worse than sugar", and even try to imply that it is somehow 'natural', with this phrase:
"It's made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same calories as sugar and is okay to eat in moderation"
REALLY?  I'd say that it's a downright LIE to say that HFCS has no artificial ingredients if you've ever seen how HFCS is refined and processed and the chemicals involved in that process.  Watch the entertaining documentary King Corn and you'll see the NASTY chemicals involved in refining HFCS!
And let's not forget that HFCS is almost always made from Genetically Modified corn.  Not so "natural" anymore huh!
In response to this CRA propaganda campaign to revamp the image of HFCS, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest stated: "High-fructose corn syrup starts out as cornstarch, which is chemically or enzymatically degraded to glucose and some short polymers of glucose. Another enzyme is then used to convert varying fractions of glucose into fructose... High-fructose corn syrup just doesn't exist in nature".
What about the debate:  Is High-Fructose Corn Syrup worse for you than sugar?
This seems to have been an ongoing debate for the last couple years, but I personally think it's a stupid debate...  In terms of your health and your waistline, they are BOTH pure evil!  Over time, with excess consumption of either HFCS or sugar, they can both lead to diabetes, obesity, and other major health problems, including premature aging, and a bulging belly!
However, with that said, I personally avoid HFCS at all costs, but I don't necessarily avoid sugar altogether. I minimize sugar greatly, but I don't avoid it like I avoid HFCS.  Have I mentioned that I haven't had a soda pop since I was a teenager... not one!  Two things that I try to avoid almost 100% are HFCS and trans fats... because they are easily two of the MOST evil food additives that cause the most damage from a biochemical standpoint internally in your body (keep that in mind when you're about to eat or drink them, and it's easy to say no).
The only HFCS I get is probably the minor amounts that I might get in ketchup at a restaurant (sorry, I'm not giving up my ketchup... but I do get organic ketchup at home, which has no HFCS).  But other than ketchup at a restaurant, I stay away from anything and everything with HFCS in it, including store-bought salad dressings which are often laced with high amounts of HFCS.  Instead, I make my own healthy lean-body salad dressings at home.
The reason that I avoid HFCS more than I avoid plain sugar is that there is just too much evidence at this point that your body DOES process HFCS differently than sugar... despite the propaganda that the Corn Refiners Association is trying to shove down your throat with their ads.
New Princeton Study reveals that HFCS can stimulate more weight gain than sugar
Leave it to those geniuses at Princeton to give us some good evidence that HFCS can make you fatter than sugar!  In a 2010 Princeton University study, researchers found that rats given water sweetened with HFCS gained significantly more weight than those given water sweetened with plain sugar, despite calorie intake being the same between both groups.
Princeton researchers also state:  "In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides".
And what about those claims by the Corn Refiners Association that HFCS is "no worse than sugar"?  Well, let's get past the propaganda, and hear what an actual researcher has to say:
According to professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction... "Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests.  When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
Princeton researchers also noted that the HFCS groups in the studies gained significant amounts of visceral fat around the belly.  As you might know, visceral fat is more deadly than subcutaneous fat and is a serious health concern as it releases inflammatory molecules into your system.
One reason that HFCS appears to cause more weight gain than plain sugar is that HFCS doesn't trigger a leptin response in the body.  This means that it won't signal the body to decrease appetite despite those HFCS calories that were consumed.
Another reason that HFCS affects our bodies differently is this... according to Princeton researchers, although HFCS only has 10% more fructose than table sugar (55% fructose content vs 50% fructose content in sugar), the fructose in HFCS is more sinister... According to Princeton, "as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for fast absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized."
Aha... very interesting!
Well, I hope that's enough evidence for you to simply try to fully avoid HFCS from now on.  Again, this doesn't mean eating loads of table sugar is good for you either (that should be obvious), but these studies clearly show that HFCS is at least one step WORSE for you than sugar.  And you also know that HFCS contributes to more abdominal fat, so with that said, why in the world would you ever want to touch another soda again!
You also now know that the deceptive advertisments by the Corn Refiners Association have basically been LYING to you with their propaganda that "HFCS is no worse for you than sugar".  Now you know the truth.
Please share this article with your friends and family to help them avoid the dangers of HFCS

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