One of the most significant parts of our body is the brain. With the help of the brain, our body can process everything smoothly. From arranging your heart to pounding, controls your thoughts, allows you to keep memories, controlling motor skills, body temperature, and even the feeling of hunger. Everything that your body does or processes is happening because your brain allows it to happen.
You might already get the gist, but let us rephrase it once more: the brain is very important. Thus, maintaining its health is a crucial thing to do. One of the easiest ways that you can do to protect your brain is by maintaining a balanced diet that can help your brain to function at its best. Not all foods are good for our body as well as our brain, there are lots of meals that can hurt your brain –and have a negative effect on your memory capability, low your mood, and at the same time raise the risk of dementia in older age.
This is in line with the investigation done by Dr. Uma Naidoo from Harvard Medical School. According to Dr. Naidoo’s research, our stomach bacteria can also impact our brain’s metabolism and give inflammation, which will affect cognition and memory capability.
Here are some types of bad food that you should stay away from if you want to keep your brain healthy for a long time.
Fried Food
Fried food is not only going to affect our waistline, but it also has a negative effect on our brain. Eating a lot of fried food can harm the blood arteries that supply the brain with oxygen. It will be harder for people who consume a lot of fried food to remember certain memories, learn new things, and develop fresh ideas –rather than for individuals who consumed more plant-based food and less fried food. It is also believed that people who consume lots of fried foods are more inclined to suffer from depression.
It may be hard for you to break the habit of eating fried food, but you can gradually try to cut it back. Taking extra measures for our health, by cutting out the consumption of fried food –will definitely be worth it.
Refined Carbohydrates
Some examples of food from refined carbohydrates are white bread and white rice. These foods have a high glycemic index, which will not only increase your blood sugar but also give a negative effect on your brain. According to research by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2015, it is found that post-menopausal women who consume high glycemic food will be more inclined to have depression during the menopause process.
Instead of eating food full of refined carbohydrates, you can substitute it with wheat bread, brown rice, and quinoa. These foods are high in fiber which will be beneficial for your brain function.
Sweetened Beverages
Fruit juice, soda, and energy drinks are a few examples of sugar-laden beverages. To enhance the sweet taste of the drink, many sweetened beverages use high-fructose corn syrup, which has a fructose content of 55% and a glucose content of 45%. The excessive amount of sugar will be responsible for creating inflammation in the brain and affecting the nervous system.
On top of that, a study in 2017 discovered that people who regularly consume sugary beverages are more likely to have poorer memory, a smaller brain volume, and a hippocampus—the area of the brain which supports us to learn new things and preserve memories.
To conclude, sugary beverages are really dangerous for our overall health, they can create obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, vascular dysfunction, and the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s in the long run. Instead of consuming sweetened beverages, it is better if you drink water in the proper amount. Water will provide energy to our brain, and a well-hydrated brain can help our brain to function better and with much clearer clarity. Because our brain has no place to store water, thus maintaining its hydration is very important. What you can do is to have your special design customized bottle water on hand –so you do not forget to bring it anywhere you go.
Alcohol
Alcohol is also a type of drink that will badly affect our brains. Same as sweetened beverages, excessive consumption of alcohol will affect the nerves in the hippocampus. Not only that, but the long-term effect of excessive alcohol consumption can also affect our neurotransmitters –the part of the brain which helps our body (from muscle to gland) to communicate with each other.
Fast Food
When we consume a lot of fast food, our pancreas will produce extra insulin. Too much production of insulin in our body can increase the chance of having dementia in older age. Our blood pressure will also be affected because of the high salt level that is typically contained in fast food. Blood pressure issues have several negative effects. From reducing memory skills to raising the chance of having a stroke.
Maintaining brain health requires eating a nutritious diet and staying away from various bad foods. Start consuming avocados, berries, broccoli, and any foods that are rich in fiber regularly, because these kinds of food can help to delay brain aging, thus helping you to maintain your brain health for a long time.
