Maintaining brain health is a crucial part of overall wellbeing, particularly as you age. The foods you choose to eat can actually play a significant role in cognitive function, memory, and mental well-being. Certain dietary choices can promote brain health, while others can harm it. With an abundance of options at grocery stores, we checked in with experts to find out which ones we should avoid eating for optimal brain health.
In a recent TikTok video, neuroscientist Dr. Robert Love and Dr. Heather Sandison, an expert in Alzheimer’s prevention and author of Reversing Alzheimer’s, discussed three common foods that may be particularly detrimental to the brain. Thanks to her extensive clinical experience in reversing memory loss and cognitive decline, Dr. Sandison explains why foods such as cinnamon rolls, diet soda, and more, should be avoided to safeguard your brain’s long-term health. Read on to discover all four!
1. Cinnamon Rolls
Sadly, this gooey, sugary, and cinnamon-loaded sweet treat is one of the culprits she says can wreak havoc on not just your brain health, but overall wellbeing.
"This combination includes gluten, fat, and sugar, three insults not only to your gut but also to your brain," she notes. Most of the time, people buy cinnamon rolls from stores, which end up being highly processed and packed with an insane amount of sugar and fat.
The high sugar content can lead to inflammation, while the gluten and unhealthy fats contribute to cognitive decline if eaten excessively.
2. Bread and Pasta
Although carbs like bread and pasta are linked to weight gain, they can actually impact the brain too.
"These again are highly processed and have tons of gluten in them, which can be highly genetically modified and often is sprayed excessively with glyphosate," she says. Glyphosate, a common herbicide, is "directly toxic to the neurological system," making it a significant concern for brain health. Dr. Sandison advises avoiding conventional breads or pastas that contain wheat to minimize exposure to these harmful substances.
Instead, check out healthier bread options here and pasta alternatives here!
3. Diet Soda
Diet soda has been branded as a healthier alternative to regular soda, but that doesn’t make it any healthier. Although it does contain fewer calories, the artificial sweeteners and other harmful ingredients in diet soda can negatively impact brain health.
Love says in this TikTok, "Most diet soda is sweetened with something called aspartame. Aspartame is not good for your gut bacteria,” he says. He also adds that most aspartame “is associated with a lot of negative side effects, including cancer in animals."
So how does this affect your brain? "The research shows that consuming aspartame, specifically diet soda, is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes is very harmful for the brain,” he notes.
He explains that anything that can increase the risk of diabetes can also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Seed Oils
Seed oils such as canola soybean, corn, and sunflower oil are popular options because they are relatively cheap and widely available.
"These are often found whenever we eat out. Things are cooked in rapeseed, also known as canola oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil," she says. These oils are considered "bad fats" because they can create inflammation in the body, including the brain. Instead, Dr. Sandison suggests cooking at home with "good fats" like coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil, which have so many other health benefits in general!
