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This may surprise you, but some foods you may consume a lot of can HARM your brain. Especially for children that find it hard to focus, are hyperactive, easily distracted or anxious.
The obvious culprits are:
Sugar, Preservatives, Additives, Trans-Fats, Mercury, Wheat-based foods and most ingredients in processed foods.
What may be less obvious – and just as harmful, are:
Fructose
In a 2012 UCLA study published in the Journal of Physiology, researchers found that a diet high in fructose over time can damage your memory and learning ability.
Beyond the harm to your brain, a high fructose diet can also cause insulin resistance in your body over time, and extra body fat.
Hmmm – who wants another can of soft drink or a large bowl of corn syrup sweetened ice cream!
The average person eating a modern western diet of processed food consumes a LARGE quantity of fructose without knowing about it from all of the soft drinks (high fructose corn syrup typically), sweetened juice drinks, orange juice, processed junk foods such as cakes and candies. It gets added to store-bought salad dressings, breads and cereals, and even ketchup.
Note that many so-called “healthy” sports drinks contain large amounts of corn syrup or even crystalline fructose as their main sweetener. These sports drinks can be equally as bad as a soda for your body and your brain. Don’t be fooled by the clever marketing showing pictures of pro athletes guzzling this stuff.
Instead you can choose to make your own homemade salad dressings from your favorite olive oil and vinegar with added spices, or choose to drink unsweetened iced tea with lemon instead of sweetened drinks or juices.
Natural whole fruits do contain fructose, but generally contain MUCH smaller quantities of fructose than you would consume in a sweetened juice drink, soft drink or sweetened junk foods.