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The phrase “we are what we eat” is true not only for
the body, but the brain as well. A physical organ just like the heart or
the liver, the brain thrives on natural, raw foods. Other foods readily
available in our world today, however, not only raise the risk of heart
disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes, but may actually damage the
brain itself.
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Fast Foods (Fatty Foods)
You know it’s bad for you. Here’s another reason why. According to a
study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, fatty foods
damaged the hypothalamus region of the brain in animal studies. The
hypothalamus produces hormones that control hunger, thirst, sleep,
moods, and other natural rhythms in the body.
Rats and mice fed a high-fat diet similar to that of many Americans had
inflamed hypothalamuses after one day, and after a short period of time
where the body tried to repair the damage, the inflammation persisted
for 8 more months until the end of the study.
Another study published in the journal Neurology found that eating fast
food was connected with brain shrinkage that can lead to Alzheimer’s.
Researchers theorized that trans fats were the likely culprits. |
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Fried Foods
Researchers from Spain found that compounds released from common cooking
oils raised the risk of neurologic degenerative diseases like
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Such breakdown chemical structures known as
“aldehydes” are formed when vegetable oils like sunflower oil are heated
to normal frying temperatures. Researchers also tested olive and
flaxseed oil and found the same results, with flaxseed and sunflower
creating the most toxic aldehydes with the least amount of frying time. |
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Processed Foods
Artificial food additives, like preservatives and food dyes, have shown
in studies to affect the cognitive functioning and behavior of some
children. A 2007 study in Lancet showed that dietary intake of
artificial food colorings and additives, particularly the preservative
“benzoate,” resulted in an increase in hyperactivity.
Artificial food additives make up more than 3,000 chemicals that are
added to foods. MSG, for example, used to flavor foods, was found in
studies to destroy nerve cells in the brain, and to encourage
seizure-like behavior. Another study in 1984 showed that so-called “exitotoxins,”
food additives that affect the nervous system, were hazardous to the
developing nervous systems of young children. |
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Salty Foods
They’re hard on the heart, but research shows they’re hard on the brain,
too. A three-year study of more than 1,200 people found that those
participants with the highest daily sodium intake and the lowest level
of exercise performed poorer over time on cognitive tests than those
with low sodium intake and an active lifestyle. |
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Foods with Pesticide Residue
A recent study examining data from over 25 million children found that
organophosphate pesticides may have effects on children’s IQ and on
preterm birth and ADHD. Another study from Nature Neuroscience found
that long-term exposure to a widely used pesticide kills brain cells and
triggers symptoms associated with Parkinson’s. Researchers from the
University of North Dakota also found a link between pesticide exposure
and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Some areas
of the brain displayed a loss of neurons in particular areas.
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