What you eat can make a significant difference in your brain health throughout your life. Regardless of age, it's never too late to start eating in a way that provides the best support for your mental health. However, there are many foods and drinks that you may regularly consume that do not serve your cognitive abilities. Experts explain how such dietary choices can harm brain health, warranting their reduction.
**Fruit Juices and Other Sugary Drinks**
It's time to cut down on juices and sugary beverages. Susan Kelly, a registered dietitian at pacific-analytics.com, a diagnostic lab that conducts various medical tests, says, "Many people drink a glass of fruit juice at breakfast without realizing how it affects the brain. Fruit juices contain some beneficial nutrients, but they are still sugary drinks with almost no fiber." She adds, "The consumption of sugary drinks leads to reduced overall brain volume and hippocampal size." Kelly points out that it’s better to eat whole fruit rather than consume it in drink form. The British Heart Foundation states that blending fruit causes the natural sugars to be released "from within the cell walls of the fruit, becoming free sugars," along with added sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.
**Alcohol**
Kelly explains: "Alcoholic beverages significantly impact the brain's communication pathways, making it difficult for someone who drinks a lot of alcohol to remember things and process new data, while also leaving them easily depressed and agitated." She adds, "To avoid such brain damage, women should not drink more than one alcoholic beverage, and men should stick to two glasses a day."
**Refined Sugar**
Why are delicious treats like pastries, ice cream, yogurt, cookies, and sweets harmful to your brain? The answer lies in refined sugar content. Trista K. Best, a registered dietitian with Balance One Supplements, states, "The digestive tract contains beneficial bacteria known as microbiota, which play a key role in maintaining overall body and mind health. This includes mental health. This is known as the gut-brain axis." She adds that to align with this "gut-brain axis," it's important to understand the enteric nervous system, which is a vast network of nerve cells lining the intestinal tract that relays messages from the gut to the brain and vice versa. Best continues: "Researchers have found that there is a direct communication line between the brain and the enteric nervous system; this is what they call the gut-brain axis." This pathway operates in both directions, connecting the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral gut function. This connection makes it crucial to maintain gut health and a balanced microbiome, according to Best, who emphasizes that sugar in the diet can lead to an imbalance in gut health.
**Refined Grains**
Similar to refined sugar, reduce your intake of refined grain products such as white bread, pizza, white rice, and white pasta to help support brain health and function. Chital Dekaria, a PhD in pain and mental health, states: "Refined grains increase inflammation and can worsen mental health." She notes: "High levels of inflammation have been linked to mental health disorders, including depression and fatigue," citing a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Immunology, which was peer-reviewed. Instead of refined grains, opt for whole grain products like whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, barley, oats, and brown rice, to name a few.
**Consuming Too Many Calories**
Although this is not a specific type of food or category, regularly consuming too many calories can be bad news for brain health, according to experts. Kelly points out: "Additionally, overeating or consuming too many calories in a shorter period is associated with increased risks of memory issues and general cognitive impairment. Overeating leads to obesity, contributing to diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, which are also thought to cause Alzheimer's disease and other brain ailments."
**Diet Soft Drinks**
Dekaria states: "Studies have shown that even diet sodas, which some believe are healthy options, are linked to increased brain inflammation and a higher risk of depression." Although more scientific inquiry is necessary, there are many other health reasons to eliminate diet sodas, including that they may reduce bone density, according to a 2020 study on high soda consumption and increased fracture risk.
**Inflammatory Foods**
Another type of food to avoid for brain health is snack foods that cause inflammation, according to Kelly. She explains: "Unwholesome, fried foods, sugary products, and red meat are your brain's enemies if consumed excessively."
