A Mediterranean diet has scientifically proven for numerous health benefits, including physical and mental health. Health experts believe that food rich with fresh veggies, fruits, grains, olive oil, and poultry offer neuroprotective benefits. In fact, some people use a special variation of the Mediterranean diet which is termed as ‘Mind Diet’. This diet is low on sodium and sugar and is associated with slowing down the brain aging process up to 7 years. It also saves a person from dementia. It shows that there are certain food items that directly affect your brain health.
Health experts share that the choice of food for the body can either improve or decline the cognition of a person. For example, if a person eats a high-fructose food for the longer term, his brain’s capacity to absorb information, remember it, and use it whenever needed is affected. But if such a person starts taking omega-3 fatty acids regularly, this damage can be minimized.
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While it is necessary to eat food that helps to improve brain health, such as fatty fish, it is equally necessary to cut some food sources which are worst for brain health. Here is a list of five food items that can affect your brain health in a neagative way.
French Fries
Food items that contain hydrogenated oils such as deep-fried French fries, nuggets, wontons, and mozzarella sticks are the worst for brain health. They have a high amount of trans-fat which is made from hydrogenated veggie oils. These fats solidify at room temperature so they don’t go bad. But using these fats increase bad cholesterol in the blood and increases the risk of heart diseases. An extensive study from Japan y studied 1,600 elderly individuals with no cognitive disease. They had high trans fat levels inside their blood and had a 75% higher risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other memory-related diseases.
Chocolate and its products
Chocolate is generally considered healthy for the body but all those benefits regarding cocoa flavonoids are only associated with dark chocolate and no other types of chocolates. Some of these Choco products contain a high amount of neurotoxic compounds for example heavy metals. There is research-based evidence that some of the commonly available chocolates contain cadmium which is a heavy metal. The safe cadmium amount is only 4.1 microgram daily but these choco products don’t contain how much cadmium they are adding in every serving.
Sodas
All sugary and fizzy drinks are exceptionally worst for brain health. The high amount of sugar such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in sodas causes inflammation and nerve damage and oxidative stress. There is plenty of data that suggests the link between sugary food and beverage intake and cognitive impartments.
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Alcohol
Everyone knows that alcohol is bad for your health but most of its ‘dangers’ are linked with the liver and stomach. But it is true that alcohol can cause temporary to permanent cognitive dysfunction. There are many studies that show that depending upon alcohol for the long term can change the energy levels and may shrink the brain too.
Diet Soda
Many people think that sodas are bad for health but diet soda has no such risks because it has ‘no sugar’ inside. It doesn’t have sugar in it but there are many other things about diet sodas which make it one of the worst food for brain health. using diet soda has been linked with obesity and type 2 diabetes. A study from the journal Stroke published under the American Heart Association explains that artificially sweetened drinks can induce stroke in some people.
This information suggests that following a diet for some time doesn’t ensure better health unless a person completely adopts it. Instead of using a certain diet for weight loss, it is better to switch to healthy dietary sources and long term benefits.
