These foods can damage the brain

Eating a healthy diet can help prevent vascular plaque, which is a risk factor for dementia. Which foods protect memory and which harm.

Our brain needs a lot of energy to work properly. For this reason, a balanced and nutritious diet is essential. On the other hand, high-fat or high-sugar foods are detrimental to mental performance. Which foods protect your memory and which ones harm you.

What happens with dementia?

With dementia, the ability to concentrate and memory decrease over time. Temporal and spatial orientation also deteriorates. Affected people increasingly need help to be able to cope with their everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. In Alzheimer’s disease, brain cells die off more and more. The triggers are suspected to be plaque deposits (beta-amyloid proteins and tau proteins) and a deficiency in the messenger substance acetylcholine.

Furthermore, circulatory disorders in the brain can be the cause of dementia. Doctors then speak of vascular dementia. Mixed forms of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia are also possible. Brain injuries, brain tumors and Parkinson’s disease can also cause dementia.

Alzheimer’s dementia: what are the risk factors?

The risk of Alzheimer’s dementia increases with age. Even if the exact causes of the disease are still unclear, there are indications of certain influencing factors that can increase the individual risk. Factors that cannot be influenced include age, genes and female gender. Women have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men. Hormonal factors, such as the drop in estrogen levels during menopause, are suspected to be the cause.

The variables that can be influenced, prevented or treated to a large extent include:

overweight
high blood pressure
diabetes
lack of exercise
excessive alcohol consumption
Smoking
head injuries
fine dust pollution
lack of education
impaired hearing
depressions
lack of social contacts

“Sleep problems are currently being discussed as another risk factor. During sleep, the body regenerates and breaks down amyloid plaques in the deep sleep phase, which play a role in Alzheimer’s dementia. Further research is necessary,” says Dr. Linda Thienpont, Head of Science at the Alzheimer Research Initiative e.V.

Eating healthy can reduce the risk of dementia

The first-mentioned risk factors for Alzheimer’s dementia are closely related to lifestyle. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that a healthy diet, sufficient exercise and not having “luxury foods” such as alcohol and smoking can help to reduce one’s own risk of dementia – and an unhealthy lifestyle, on the other hand, increases the risk of dementia. But which diet is good for the brain – and which is harmful?

Diet and dementia: Mediterranean cuisine could protect

There are no single foods with which one could “eat” dementia. Likewise, there are no specific foods or even a special dementia diet that could safely prevent dementia. However, research shows that a healthy diet in general can help reduce your risk of dementia.

In this context, dementia experts emphasize Mediterranean cuisine, i.e. the Mediterranean diet with lots of vegetables and fruit, salads, legumes and nuts, vegetable oils such as olive oil, fresh herbs, whole grain products and more fish than meat.

For example, a study as part of the DELCODE study by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) indicates that a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of dementia.

Researchers at the DZNE led by Professor Michael Wagner, working group leader at the DZNE and senior psychologist at the Memory Outpatient Clinic at the University Hospital in Bonn, have found evidence that a more Mediterranean diet with relatively higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruit, cereals, fish and unsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil may can protect against protein deposits in the brain and brain atrophy. Dairy products, red meat and saturated fat are consumed in small amounts in the Mediterranean diet.

Diet and dementia: Which foods damage the brain?

Thienpont also confirms that animal products such as red meat and fatty dairy products, as well as high sugar consumption and the consumption of highly processed foods can damage the brain: “All of these foods promote obesity, increase the risk of diabetes, and can damage the blood vessels and cardiovascular system -diseases – which increases the risk of Alzheimer’s. Animal products are also rich in cholesterol, which also promotes vascular deposits,” says the expert.

Smoking and alcohol: two important dementia risk factors

Also harmful are “stimulants” such as smoking and alcohol. As a cytotoxin, alcohol has a damaging effect on the brain cells and also promotes inflammatory reactions in the brain. Smoking also has a damaging effect and impairs the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. “In order to function, the brain needs oxygen and nutrients, which the heart pumps to the brain via the bloodstream. Anything that damages the heart and blood vessels ultimately also damages the brain,” emphasizes Thienpont.

Start dementia prevention early

The expert advises changing your diet at an early stage and avoiding alcohol and smoking. “If nerve cells are destroyed, this cannot be reversed. Although the brain is basically able to form new nerve cells, it is only to a limited extent. The aim should be to protect the nerve cells in the brain as best as possible,” says Thienpont. “A healthy diet based on the Mediterranean diet is an important step.”

At the same time, a diet based on Mediterranean cuisine provides the body with healthy proteins, carbohydrates and fats as well as important micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements and secondary plant substances. “A sufficient and regular supply of nutrients is important. The brain needs about 20 percent of our energy turnover. It can only work well and stay healthy if it is well supplied. Since the brain cannot store nutrients, it needs regular supplies,” says the expert.

The brain needs movement

At the same time, Thienpont emphasizes the importance of exercise in dementia prevention. Exercise helps to lose excess weight, regulates blood fat and blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol levels, supports the body’s oxygen supply and can reduce inflammation. Sport is therefore not only an important element in counteracting cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, but also reduces the risk of dementia.

“It is important that exercise is fun and that it is adapted to the physical situation. It doesn’t have to be a high-performance sport. Even daily walks and as much exercise as possible in everyday life have a positive effect,” says Thienpont.

Lowering the risk of dementia: Ten nutrition tips

The following ten diet tips will help you reduce your risk of dementia:

Fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs contain important vitamins, minerals, trace elements and important phytochemicals. Include plenty of it in your diet.
Use vegetable oils, such as olive oil, rapeseed oil or linseed oil. These are high in healthy unsaturated fats.
Ensure a regular intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are contained in fatty sea fish such as salmon, cod or mackerel, as well as in cold-pressed rapeseed, olive and linseed oil. Use it cold as often as possible, for example in salads. The valuable ingredients are partially destroyed when heated.
Eat a handful of unsalted nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, a day. They are rich in protein, trace elements and healthy fats.
Drink at least two to three liters of water a day.
Eat little red meat.
Eat animal products in moderation as they are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
When shopping, keep an eye on the type and amount of fats and the sugar content of the food.
Drink alcohol only in moderation and always insert phases in which you abstain from alcohol altogether.
Do not smoke.

“It is also important that existing diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes mellitus are treated and well adjusted,” emphasizes the expert. “That also lowers the risk of dementia.”