Bad foods for mental health

There are foods that can have a negative impact on memory, cognitive processes, and emotional health. High glycemic index foods can have a detrimental impact on the brain resulting in emotional health impairment and increased risk of depression. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that post-menopausal women who eat foods with a high glycemic index like white bread, rice, cornflakes, and potatoes have a higher incidence of new onset depression. The more lactose, fiber, fruit, and vegetables participants ate the less likely they were to get depressed. The ingestion of highly refined carbohydrates is linked to mood swings, fatigue, and other symptoms of depression. The exact reasons why blood sugar can have a profound impact on mood is not understood well by the scientific community, but there is a strong correlation. 

Consumption of fruit juice seems like a healthy alternative to soda. Sugar delivery from fruit juice is very similar to soda. The extra sugar could compromise brain function. A 2015 study in Neuroscience shows that mice subjected to a high sugar and fat diet demonstrated significant cognitive decline. This work also suggests that such a diet can alter healthy bacterial systems. It has been said often that people should eat fruit, but not drink it. 

Foods high in saturated fat have a negative effect on memory and causes inflammation of the brain. Cheese followed by pizza are the biggest sources of saturated fat in the American diet. High-fat diets correlate with poor memory and also injures the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus helps control bodyweight regulation. The injury is caused by increased inflammation. Researchers have studied brain images in obese humans and found injured brain cells in the same region.  So, eating a high fat diet damages the ability of the brain to regulate the food ingested making a subject more prone to obesity. A high-fat diet increases inflammation elsewhere including arteries. A high-fat diet can lead to blockages in arteries resulting in a heart attack or stroke and affecting blood flow to the brain. 

Eating too many fried foods increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Eating fried food with saturated fat and cholesterol has a profound impact on the brain. Saturated fat of fried foods is shown to damage the blood-brain barrier.  The barrier is a complex transport system for nutrients into the brain. If disrupted, it may allow harmful substances into the brain or disrupt the uptake of nutrients important to brain function. Fried foods increase blood cholesterol levels. There is a link between blood cholesterol and dementia. A 2014 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association  showed that individuals with high LDL or "bad" cholesterol and low levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol  are more likely to have beta-amyloid protein build-up and neurofibrillary tangles leading to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. More research needs to be conducted to determine whether elevated cholesterol values is a cause or result of Alzheimer's progression. 

Trans fats hurt brain function and memory. Trans fats are fats that are hydrogenated to become fully saturated. Eating them will raise LDL and lower HDL levels. The FDA aims to remove trans fats from the food supply. Trans fats are present in stick margarine, frosting, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, coffee creamer, and microwave popcorn. Two consequences of too much trans- fat are less favorable cognitive function and less total cerebral brain volume. In analysis of fifty studies on trans-fats, a review found that diets high in trans-fat raise the risk of dying from heart disease by twenty-eight percent and any cause by thirty-four percent. Avoid high glycemic index carbohydrates, saturated fats, and trans-fats to improve cognitive function, memory, and emotional health. Please visit tpnbodyperfect.com and view our short software demonstration with a program that reduces hours of tedious work down to minutes.