Just as it is important to know the good brain foods that boost your brainpower, it is just as important to know food that kills brain cells — or at the very least decrease brain power. Bad brain foods provide little to no nutritional value. It should go without saying the alcohol and illegal drugs top the list.
Food that clogs arteries will naturally decrease your blood flow to the brain. This includes food with high glycemic indexes that can cause sugar swings, making your body weaker and less powerful.
Foods that are bad for the body are usually bad for brain development as well, and often carry the following characteristics:
§ High refined sugar content
§ White Flour
§ Trans Fat and Polyunsaturated Fat
§ Salt
§ Numerous food additives — such as monosodium glutamate and tartrazine
§ Lack fiber, vitamins and other healthy minerals
§ Alcohol
§ Hydrogenated fats — clog arteries
§ Artificial sweeteners, flavorings, and colorings
Not only can certain foods cause mental health problems, they can manifest themselves in other other health-related conditions, such as:
§ Obesity
§ Type 2 Diabetes
§ Dental Problems
§ Heart Disease
Alcohol should be avoided except in small quantities. It has no health value, and when consumed in excess can kill off brain cells. Nicotine, although not a food, should be listed as bad for the simple reason it can cut-off and restrict blood flow to the brain, and restricts the healthy flow of oxygen and glucose. It also tightens your capillaries, which are essential to the delivery of blood and healthy nutrients to your neurotransmitters (messenger cells that allow brain cells and healthy nutrients to interact and communicate with each other).
Your brain absorbs 20% of all carbohydrates that you take in. It prefers a steady stream of blood sugars without interruptions or extreme changes. Healthy brain foods do not make your body “crash and burn” from temporary sugar spikes (candy bars, sugar loaded food and drinks). They help to maintain a steady and balanced absorption of blood sugars in the pancreas and prevent this effect. Although they may give a temporary “feel good” burst of initial energy, the big fluctuations in your blood sugar is not healthy.
Sugar highs lead to sugar lows, and the roller coaster of rapidly changing imbalances cause chemical imbalances in the brain — leading to agitation, sleepiness, depression, etc.
You need to realize that what you eat affects your brain as well as your overall body. You don’t need to memorize a list of bad foods. You simply have to be conscious of what you are eating and your food choices.
This is Ron White, two-time USA Memory Champion , memory training expert, and memory keynote speaker. I encourage you to take a look at what you are eating in order to put your body and brain in a healthy place.
Sources:
4Mind4Life — Brain Foods: List of Bad Brain Foods: http://4mind4life.com/blog/2008/07/19/brain-foods-list-of-bad-brain-foods/
