Eating Habits that are Bad for Your Brain

When you start an eating plan, you may have certain lifestyle goals. These results can range from trimming your waistline, to a full-body transformation. Not only that, many dieters focus on changing aspects of their outward appearance, they may forget how their diet affects their brain.

Read: 10 Benefits of Vitamin C for Bright Skin

This important organ is crucial for other organs such as the heart, lungs, or other vital organs. According to The World Federation of Neurology, brain health affects a person's ability to communicate, make informed decisions, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Several factors have an effect on the health of this vital organ, including diet, sleep and exercise patterns.

Keeping track of what goes into your body has a huge impact on your cognitive health.

If you eat the wrong foods, you can develop or suffer from neuroinflammation, which can lead to memory loss and other health problems later in life.

Although this condition sounds scary, you can avoid unwanted symptoms by monitoring the food you eat. With the help of a select group of experts, we've put together a definitive guide to the worst eating habits for your brain.


While this guide gives you a complete guide on what not to do, be sure to check out Popular Foods That Can Improve Brain Health, Says Dietitians to learn about which ingredients you should add to your diet for the best brain benefits.

Recognize Eating Habits that are Bad for Your Brain 

1. Overeating with sugar

When you need your brain to work at 100%, make sure to avoid excessive sugar consumption.

"Brain function is very dependent on blood sugar levels in the body, because glucose is usually the main fuel for the brain," said Dr. Dimitar Marinov, MD.

"Although too much sugar doesn't harm your brain directly, it triggers the release of high levels of insulin. Insulin affects the access of various amino acids to your brain and more specifically if it blocks the transport of most amino acids except tryptophan."

2. Do not eat carbohydrates at all

You may assume that cutting all sugar out of your pattern can do wonders for your nervous health, but don't make this assumption too soon.

"Glucose isn't the only brain fuel," says Dr. Marinov. "It can also burn ketones. Although most keto enthusiasts will swear that burning ketones is optimal and improves brain function. Unless your body adapts well to ketosis, stopping carbohydrate consumption can lead to instability in blood sugar levels and even hypoglycemia. This can lead to brain fog, confusion, and even temporary loss of consciousness."

3. Drinking too much alcohol

Alcohol can take a toll on your body, and especially affect your brain. "Drinking more than the recommended 1 to 2 drinks per day can affect your brain's ability to function at its full potential," says Melissa Mitri, RD for Wellness Verge.

Excessive alcohol consumption can increase neurotransmitters in the body, which drive chemical messages to help brain cells communicate with each other.

4. Skipping meals

"The brain uses 20% of the body's energy and when skipping food, the brain suffers when energy from food is limited," says Liz Wyosnick, MS, RDN, and owner of Equilibriyum. "When you skip lunch or dinner, the body goes into compensatory mode to make glucose in the brain and to balance blood sugar to a safe balance level. This can manifest in the body as low energy, agitation, and an inability to concentrate or focus.

For brain health, it's helpful to have breakfast within 1 hour of waking up, and then eat a balanced meal every 3 to 4 hours of the day."

5. Multitasking while eating

If you like to eat lunch at your desk while working, you may end up tricking your brain into overeating.

"Doing a task while eating means you lose awareness and sensation of the food in front of you," Wyosnick says. Multitasking during a meal can mean that you lose touch with your satiety signals and your brain's ability to register satiety and satisfaction from food is impaired.

Distracted eating can mean that you are letting food go out of control and therefore you can snack more and have negative blood sugar consequences and an impact on brain focus."

6. Inadequate intake of vitamin B12

"Vitamin B12 protects nerve cells and helps produce neurotransmitters that help nerve cells communicate," says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN, co-author of The Menopause Diet Plan.

"Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency including dementia, poor memory and confusion. Untreated vitamin B12 deficiency can cause irreversible nerve damage. People who avoid all animal foods or who don't eat enough can easily develop vitamin B12 deficiency, especially after the age of 50."

That's the article Recognize Bad Eating Habits for Your Brain, hopefully useful.