You are what you eat
- neuro sphere
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
By: Safaa Siddiqi
You are what you eat
“You are what you eat”
A phrase commonly used in today’s society might just be true.
The brain is a complex structure consisting of billions of neurons communicating with the rest of the body through synaptic connections. The things we eat might be digested in the gut, however, that is not the only part of the body affected by food. The gut contains a nerve called “the vagus nerve” which connects the gastrointestinal system to the brain; the vagus nerve acts like an Uber, picking up the nutrient signals from the gut and dropping them off at the brain. Like any Uber driver, you wouldn't want to drive dangerous people similar to how your vagus nerve doesn’t want unhealthy food transported through it. So, to prevent your vagus nerve from going through an uber crisis, here are some healthy foods that keep up brain function and reduce your risk of developing neurological disorders, such as parkinson's disease (PD) , later in life.
Antioxidant-rich foods
Before knowing what antioxidant-rich foods you should eat, you should know what antioxidants are. So what exactly are antioxidants?
Simply put, they act like every other healthy nutrient because they fight off harmful molecules in your body. But to get into specifics, antioxidants fight off the free radicals (A.K.A unstable molecules) that cause oxidative stress and dopamine loss in the brain. High levels of oxidative stress can be harmful as it leads to neuroinflammation and neuronal death. This is the reason why dopamine loss ensues; oxidative stress in the brain slowly chips away at the dopamine neurotransmitters, like a lumberjack would to a tree, which can cause neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Now that we know a little background on what antioxidants are and what they lead to, let's get to everyone's favorite part; Food! Antioxidants can be found in every fruit we eat; they are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc.
Here are the top antioxidant foods in each category!
Fruits | Berries (blueberries, cranberries, blackberries) |
Vegetables | Leafy greens (spinach, kale, dark leafy greens) |
Grains | Corn, wheat, and rice |
Nuts | Walnuts, pecans, and chestnuts |
Easy recipes that are high in antioxidants:
Anti-Inflammatory foods
Inflammation in the brain can be harmful as it causes damage within the cells. This damage can range anywhere from causing them to not function properly to losing all function (cell death). As inflammation in the brain can lead to cell malfunction, it also may be one of the factors contributing to Parkinson's Disease as the inflammation kills dopamine producing neurons. This is one of the reasons people who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease show such high levels of inflammation in the brain.
But how do we stop this? Right now Parkinson's disease isn’t a fully curable condition however, we can work on preventing the inflammation that may cause PD later on by implementing anti-inflammatory foods into our diets so that we can reduce the degeneration of dopamine neurons.
Here are the top Anti-inflammatory foods!
Olive oil | Leafy Greens |
Berries | Tomatoes |
Fatty fish (Salmon, tuna, mackerel) | Nuts (walnuts) |
Inflammatory foods to AVOID!
Processed foods | Red meat |
Fried foods (french fries, donuts, etc.) | Carbohydrates |
Sweetened/sugary foods | Sodas |
Hopefully this was useful information to have!
As long as the food is healthy, the brain is healthy as well so make sure to be careful with what you eat and think of the long-term effects instead of just the short-term ones (we don’t want any more Uber crises happening in our bodies!!).
Cited Works:
“Antioxidants – The Nutrition Source.” The Nutrition Source, https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/antioxidants/. Accessed 22 January 2025.
“The role of oxidative stress in Parkinson's disease.” PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24252804/. Accessed 22 January 2025.
“Top 20 Foods High In Antioxidants.” St. John's Health, https://www.stjohns.health/documents/content/top-20-foods-high-in-antioxidants.pdf. Accessed 22 January 2025.
“The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs andbsupplements used worldwide.” PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2841576/. Accessed 22 January 2025.
“The Link between Inflammation & Early Parkinson’s.” Parkinson’s Foundation, 2 Aug. 2023, www.parkinson.org/blog/science-news/inflammation. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Melissa. “DASH Diet Recommended Diet for Parkinson’s.” Neurology Solutions, 6 Oct. 2015, www.neurologysolutions.com/dash-diet-recommended-for-people-with-parkinsons/#:~:text=Inflammation%20in%20the%20nervous%20system,tuna%20and%20salmon%2C%20and%20soy. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
“Foods That Fight Inflammation.” Harvard Health, 26 Mar. 2024, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
“Anti Inflammatory Diet.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 20 Feb. 2024, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/anti-inflammatory-diet. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
professional, Cleveland Clinic medical. “What Is Oxidative Stress?” Cleveland Clinic, 1 May 2024, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/oxidative-stress. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Comments