To improve the functioning of the brain, one should not only saturate the diet with useful products, but also exclude harmful ones. Nutritionists identify five main products that can enhance brain function.
What foods are harmful to the brain
After each meal, the products consumed by a person are broken down into various substances, enter the bloodstream and are delivered to the brain. Each time we make a choice: there is something that improves brain function or can harm it.
Sweets and drinks
Harmful products for blood vessels also have a negative effect on the brain. These include sweets and carbonated drinks.
An elevated sugar level can trigger structural changes in blood vessels and diabetes. Excessive consumption of sweets and carbonated drinks over a long period of time increases the risk of dementia. You can replace them with fruits, and instead of carbonated drinks, it is better to drink plain water or tea without sugar.
Trans fats
Brain-damaging foods often contain trans fats or unsaturated fatty acids.
Such substances are contained in snacks, packaged pastries, fast food and other industrially produced products. There is a theory that consuming trans fats may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, products containing trans fats are harmful to memory.
Foods containing refined carbohydrates in large quantities result in impaired brain function in both children and adults. Consumption of such products increases the risk of degenerative diseases. Refined carbohydrates can be replaced with whole grains, vegetables and fruits.
Aspartame
The most brain-damaging solution is to replace sugar with aspartame, which has even worse effects. This sweetener is often found in carbonated beverages. However, it is often added to coffee or tea when trying to lose weight.
The substance is actually calorie-free, but contains harmful components such as phenylalanine, methanol, and aspartic acid, all of which are bad brain foods. These substances negatively affect the cognitive functions of the brain.
If a person regularly uses aspartame, he will later notice a deterioration in his mood and level of attention. It is better to completely exclude aspartame from the diet, but reduce the use of sugar to a minimum.
Alcohol
Alcoholic drinks and foods impair memory and have a very negative effect on brain activity.
On the Internet, you can find information about the benefits of red wine in small quantities. However, you should always be careful with alcohol. Even with the consumption of very large doses of alcohol, the following signs of deterioration of brain function are observed:
hallucinations;
acute psychoses;
memory loss;
disruption of neurotransmitters;
decrease in brain volume in isolated cases.