Better Brain Health - How poor diet affect your Brain?

 

Brain is kind of most powerful thing in our body. It works 24 x 7, even when you sleep. So, it becomes very important to take good care of your brain. Taking healthy diets, sound sleep, and meditation are some of the things which one can practice to promote brain health.

But our modern lifestyle and eating habits are deteriorating the brain health in many ways.

First thing is our modern-day lifestyle involves a lot of intake of high fat and sugar diets, and the body and brain are paying a heavy price for this. It is such that now the fast foods, high sugar foods, and sodas have become unavoidable.

How Foods rich in fats and sugar are Impacting brain health?

Every one is aware that junk foods make us fat. But there more serious impacts of these foods causing us. Research is indicating that these foods might also be shrinking our brains.

Long term exposure to high fat and sugar foods has changed the part of the brain dealing with memory. Habitual intake of these foods has led to the reprogramming of memory.

So, what we eat directly affects how we feel.

How our brain health is going to be, also depends on the diet of the mother she was taking during her gestation period. As brain development starts before birth. There is a number of consequences known for not taking proper diet during the gestation period.

A Study led by Felice Jacka Prof. at University of Melbourne, to examine the behaviors of babies after following the eating habits of 23000 pregnant women. Intake of junk and processed food and intake of Healthful foods (rich in fibers and nutrients) were measured.

The emotional health of the children was looked on for a few years after birth from 18 months to 5 years. Other sorts of things which affect the bringing up of children were also taken into account such as education, income, mother mental health, parenting practices, etc.

What the study clearly indicated is that mothers who ate more of Junk, processed kind of food such as soft drinks, sweet drinks, salty snacks, cakes biscuits during pregnancy. Their kids have more of this behavior such as aggression, anger and tantrums.

                             

In the same way children's diet also affects his behavior and brain health. Children eating processed foods that generally lack essential nutrients are more prone to behaviors such as sadness, anxiety, and worry.

In another study carried out at the University of Bordeaux, scientist studied the consequences of dietary deficiencies on the mouse brain, a measure of anxiety was done. Normally rodents are curious by nature. But the mouse fed with Omega-3- Fatty acid-deficient diet, the brain does not develop and function properly and they easily get stressed and anxious.

Omega-3 Fatty acids are considered important for the brain because 90% of the gray matter of the brain is fat which it cannot be produced by the body itself. Omega-3 Fatty acids improves the electrical properties of nerve cells and the signal propagate faster.

Omega-3 Fatty acids rich foods are oily fish, organ meat, vegetable oils, seeds and nuts.

Can unbalanced diet triggers aggression and violent behavior?

A study was done on the young prisoners in the Netherlands in eight different prisons. For 3 months vitamins, minerals, and Fatty acid-rich supplements were provided to the detainees and the effect of these were looked on their behavior. Their behavior and number of the incident log of the number of times detainees were punished were considered to draw any conclusion. There is a dramatic fall in punishments as much as one-third of total times.

How high fat and sugar diets are affecting our memory?

A study did by Dr. Margaret Morris in University of New South Wales on how the junk foods, cheap fast foods and all of these meat pies, chips, cakes, and biscuits are affecting rat memory.

The first consequence of feeding the rats with all the junk and processed foods in markets is that the animal doubles its food ration and never feels satiated. Secondly, animals eating high fat and sugar diet are less able to recognized remember things. It caused impairment in spatial memory. But there are some other malfunctions that sound as warning signals.

 The conclusion is clear that knowingly or unknowingly these processed high fat and sugar foods are affecting our brain health in the worse way possible. One should avoid these type of foods and shift their diet to a healthier side, which is beneficial for its physical, mental and emotional well being