There are many reasons to want to eat well, but among them, a priority may be to promote the health of your brain.
From lowering your risk of dementia to supporting mental health, experts say there are good reasons to limit these foods and drinks if you’re not already doing so.
Check out these details and reasons to limit these food and drink options.
Fruit juices and other sugary drinks
It is time to reduce the consumption of juices and sugary drinks.
“Many people [drink] a tall glass of fruit juice with their breakfast without realizing how badly it is affecting their brain. Fruit juices have some useful nutrients, but still, they are sugary drinks that contain almost no fiber,” says Susan Kelly, a registered dietitian at pacific-analytics.com, a diagnostic lab that performs a variety of medical tests.
“Consumption of sugary drinks is blamed for reducing total brain volume and hippocampal volume,” he continues.
Kelly adds that it’s best to eat whole fruit rather than consume it in beverage form. The British Heart Foundation says that blending fruit causes natural sugars “to be released from the cell walls of the fruit and become ‘free sugars,'” which include added sugars such as honey and maple syrup.
Too much alcohol
Apparently, long-term drinking at happy hour or dinner with wine isn’t good for your head.
“Alcoholic beverages greatly affect the communication pathways in your brain. A person who drinks a lot of alcohol finds it difficult to remember things and process new data, leaving them easily depressed and upset,” says Kelly.
“To avoid such brain damage, women should drink no more than one glass of alcohol and men should stick to two glasses a day.”
Refined sugar
Why are treats like cake, ice cream, yogurt, cookies, and candy bad for the brain? The answer lies in its refined sugar content.
“The gut contains beneficial bacteria known as the microbiota, which play a key role in maintaining the health of both body and mind. These health benefits also include mental health. This is known as the ‘gut-brain axis,’” offers Trista K. Best, registered dietitian for Balance One Supplements (balanceone.com).
He adds that to be attuned to this “gut-brain axis,” it’s important to understand the enteric nervous system, which is a vast network of neurons that line the intestinal tract and carry messages from the gut to the brain and back. .
“Researchers have discovered that there is a direct line of communication between the brain and the enteric nervous system: this is what they call the gut-brain axis,” he says, referring to an article published in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal.
“This line of communication works both ways, linking the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral gut function. This connection makes it vitally important to keep your gut healthy and your microbiome in balance,” says Best, noting that dietary sugar can lead to gut dysbiosis. [an imbalance].
refined grains
As with refined sugar, minimize your intake of refined grain products such as white bread, Pizzaburritos, white rice and white pasta, to help maintain a healthy and functional brain.
“Refined grains elevate inflammation and can worsen mental health,” says Sheetal DeCaria, a physician who specializes in pain and mental health (revitalizedmedcenter.com).
“Elevated levels of inflammation have been linked to mental health disorders, such as depression and fatigue,” he continues, pointing to 2019 research published in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Immunology.
Instead of refined grains, opt for whole grain products like whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, barley, oatmeal, brown rice, and millet, to name a few.
consuming too many calories
It may not be a specific food or food category, but consuming too many calories on a regular basis can potentially be bad news for brain health, experts say.
“In addition, overeating or consuming a lot of calories in a shorter period of time is linked to an increased risk of memory-related problems and general cognitive decline,” says Kelly.
“Overeating causes obesity that contributes to diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, which is thought to be the additional cause of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.”
Diet soft drinks
If you think diet soda is better for your brain, be careful.
“Studies have shown that even diet sodas, which some believe to be healthier options, have been linked to elevated brain inflammation and increased risk of depression,” says DeCaria.
The dual board-certified integrative pain physician points to 2015 research published in the journal Missouri Medicine. And while more scientific research is needed, there are plenty of other health reasons to ditch diet soda (it can lower bone density, according to a 2020 study on high soda consumption and increased risk of fractures), so perhaps this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for diet cola.
inflammatory foods
Another type of food to avoid to support brain health is snacks that cause inflammation, according to Kelly.
“Junk, fried foods, sugary items, and red meat are your brain’s enemies if you overindulge in them,” says Kelly.
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