There is food that we love, but can certainly hurt us, but could they even go to the point of making us dumber?
There aren’t really any specific foods that can make a person less intelligent, but some foods can temporarily affect cognitive performance and the ability to focus.
As an entrepreneur, and in general as a person who wants to be healthy, there are some foods that you should avoid so that they do not affect your brain performance.
Foods that could make you dumber
1. Processed foods
Processed foods often contain saturated fat and refined sugars, which can negatively affect concentration and memory. In this group are fast foods, French fries and sweet snacks.
According to an article published in the magazine Science Alert eating ultra-processed foods can exacerbate age-related cognitive decline and increase the risk of developing dementia.
2. Sugar
Consuming too much sugar can cause fluctuations in blood glucose levels, which can negatively affect memory and attention. The US CDC warns that high blood sugar levels over time damage the blood vessels in the brain that carry oxygen-rich blood. When your brain gets too little blood, brain cells can die. This is called brain atrophy, and it can cause problems with memory and thinking, and can eventually lead to vascular dementia.
3. Alcoholic beverages
Alcohol can negatively affect concentration, memory, and learning ability. In general, alcohol makes it harder for the areas of the brain that control balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher chance of injury. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) of the United States, long-term excessive alcohol consumption causes alterations in neurons, such as reducing their size.
4. Too much caffeine
Consuming too much caffeine can affect your ability to sleep and cause nervousness and anxiety, which in turn can affect cognitive performance. A 2021 study found that people who consume more than six cups of coffee a day had a 53% increased risk of developing dementia and reduced total brain volumes. Thus, healthy adults are advised to limit their daily coffee intake to about four to five cups, which is equivalent to about 400 milligrams of caffeine per 24 hours.
5. Foods high in saturated fat
Eating foods high in saturated fat, such as red meat and dairy products, can increase the risk of heart disease and may also negatively affect cognition.
An article kept in the National Library of Medicine indicates that the excess or deficiency of specific nutrients in the diet differently affect cognitive processes, emotions, behavior, neuroendocrine functions and synaptic plasticity with possible protective or detrimental effects on the neural physiology.
5. Foods High in Sodium
Eating foods high in sodium can increase blood pressure and affect cognitive performance.
According to the National Institute of Health in the United States, high levels of salt in the diet cause a chemical change in a protein called tau. This change, phosphorylation, can cause tau to clump together in the brain. Clusters of tau are linked to some dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Artificial sweeteners
The abuse of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, can affect memory and cognitive ability. According to the magazine scielothe excess of this substance causes headache, insomnia, irritability, depression, fatigue, vertigo, visual, gastrointestinal and menstrual problems.
It’s important to remember that diet is only one of many factors that can affect brain function. That is why it is advisable to have a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats, and limit the consumption of processed foods, sugar and saturated fats.
Additionally, it is important to exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and stay mentally active to maintain optimal brain function.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.