Top 10 Foods That Cause Dementia

Summary

本视频探讨了导致痴呆的前10种食物，并解释了食物与痴呆发展机制之间的联系。痴呆发病率随年龄增长迅速上升，而大脑需要能量和刺激来保持功能。不良基因、缺乏运动、炎症、氧化应激、环境毒素、食物过敏和肠道菌群失衡等都是加速大脑退化的因素。视频列举了包括过量饮酒、精制碳水化合物、糖、含汞鱼类、农药残留的农产品、人工甜味剂、不良脂肪、食物敏感性增加因素、过量咖啡因和食品添加剂在内的十种食物，它们可能对大脑健康产生负面影响，并建议采取健康的生活方式来减缓痴呆的发展。

Takeaways

• 🧠 痴呆症的发病率随年龄增长迅速上升，需要了解其成因以及食物如何影响其发展。
• 💪 大脑需要能量来保持功能，它虽然只占体重的2%，但消耗了超过20%的能量。
• 🔥 大脑产生能量的方式依赖于碳水化合物和酮体作为燃料，以及氧化过程中的氧气。
• 🏋️‍♂️ 大脑需要刺激以保持活力，缺乏刺激会导致大脑退化，这是导致痴呆的机制之一。
• 🧬 遗传因素对痴呆症的影响并非绝对，表观遗传学解释了基因表达的差异。
• 🏃‍♂️ 运动对于刺激大脑至关重要，不仅仅是为了减肥或保持健康的外观。
• 🔥 慢性低度炎症是导致退化的主要生化驱动因素，包括氧化压力、环境毒素、食物过敏和肠道菌群失衡。
• 🍺 过量饮酒会导致神经毒性，损害脑细胞，增加痴呆风险。
• 🍚 精制碳水化合物，如添加糖和淀粉，会导致血糖和胰岛素抵抗性上升，与痴呆症的发展有强关联。
• 🐟 鱼类含有对大脑有益的Omega-3脂肪酸，但需注意避免食用含有高汞的鱼类。
• 🚫 “脏十二”列表上的植物和蔬菜因使用大量农药而对大脑和身体有害，应尽量选择有机产品或避免食用。
• 🍬 人造甜味剂如阿斯巴甜和三氯蔗糖是神经毒素，会破坏肠道菌群，增加炎症和过敏的风险。
• 🥑 所谓的“坏脂肪”主要指加工过程中受损的脂肪，尤其是反式脂肪和过量的Omega-6脂肪酸。
• 🌶️ 食物中的凝集素，尤其是茄科植物和某些谷物中的凝集素，可能会增加食物敏感性并影响大脑健康。
• ☕️ 过量摄入咖啡因可能成为压力源，影响内分泌系统和睡眠。
• 🍡 食品添加剂，包括人工色素、香料和防腐剂，可能使食物对生物体不具吸引力，不利于健康。

Q & A

为什么年龄增长会导致认知障碍的发生率急剧上升？

年龄增长与认知障碍发生率的急剧上升有关，因为随着年龄的增长，大脑的代谢活动增加，需要更多的能量和刺激来保持功能。此外，年龄增长还与慢性低度炎症、氧化应激和遗传因素等大脑退化的驱动因素有关。

大脑如何产生能量，为什么这对于理解食物与认知障碍的关系很重要？

大脑通过线粒体中的碳水化合物和酮体氧化来产生能量。理解这一过程有助于我们认识到某些食物如何通过影响能量产生和氧化过程来增加认知障碍的风险。

为什么说大脑需要刺激，并且这与食物有什么关系？

大脑需要刺激以保持其功能，因为如果不经常给予刺激，大脑就会开始退化和恶化，这是导致认知障碍的机制之一。食物可以提供必要的能量和营养，支持大脑功能和刺激，从而有助于预防认知退化。

基因如何影响认知障碍的发展，表观遗传学在这个过程中扮演什么角色？

基因通过决定个体的遗传构成来影响认知障碍的发展。表观遗传学是指基因表达的调控，它可以决定哪些基因被激活或沉默，从而影响个体对环境因素的反应，包括饮食习惯，进而影响认知健康。

什么是慢性低度炎症，它如何成为认知退化的主要生化驱动因素？

慢性低度炎症是一种持续的、低水平的炎症状态，它可以由氧化应激、环境毒素、食物过敏和肠道菌群失衡等因素引起。这种炎症状态会加速大脑退化，增加认知障碍的风险。

为什么过量饮酒会增加认知障碍的风险？

过量饮酒会导致认知障碍，因为酒精是一种神经毒素，会直接损害脑细胞，还可能导致肠道通透性增加、食物过敏和炎症，以及增加胰岛素抵抗，所有这些都可能加速大脑退化。

精制碳水化合物如何影响大脑健康，为什么它们与认知障碍有关？

精制碳水化合物会导致血糖快速上升，长期高血糖会促进胰岛素抵抗的发展。胰岛素抵抗会影响大脑对葡萄糖的利用，导致大脑能量供应不足，从而增加认知障碍的风险。

为什么说过多的糖分摄入会导致大脑饥饿，即使血糖水平很高？

高血糖水平导致身体产生更多的胰岛素，长期的高血糖和高胰岛素水平会导致胰岛素抵抗。胰岛素抵抗意味着大脑细胞不能有效地利用血液中的葡萄糖，导致大脑能量供应不足，即使血糖水平很高，大脑也可能遭受饥饿。

为什么食用含汞量高的鱼类可能对大脑有害？

含汞量高的鱼类中的汞是一种重金属神经毒素，它会破坏大脑组织，导致认知功能受损。因此，选择含汞量低的鱼类，如沙丁鱼、鲱鱼等，对大脑健康更为安全。

什么是‘脏一打’(dirty dozen)，它们为什么可能对大脑健康有害？

‘脏一打’是指在生产过程中使用大量化学农药的植物类食物，如草莓、桃、苹果等。这些农药对人体和大脑都是有毒的，可能会增加炎症和氧化应激，从而增加认知障碍的风险。

人工甜味剂为什么可能对大脑健康有害？

人工甜味剂如阿斯巴甜和三氯蔗糖被证明具有神经毒性，它们会破坏肠道菌群平衡，导致肠道通透性增加、炎症和过敏等问题，这些都可能对大脑健康产生负面影响。

为什么说不好的脂肪，特别是反式脂肪和 Omega-6 含量高的植物油，可能对大脑健康有害？

不好的脂肪，如反式脂肪和过度加工的植物油，会在体内产生氧化应激和自由基，增加炎症。Omega-6 脂肪酸过量摄入会导致 Omega-3 和 Omega-6 的不平衡，这也可能促进炎症和认知功能下降。

食物敏感性如何与认知障碍的发展相关联？

食物敏感性，如由凝集素引起的敏感性，可能会导致肠道通透性增加，从而允许未消化的食物颗粒和其他有害物质进入血液，引起全身性炎症反应，包括大脑炎症，这可能促进认知障碍的发展。

为什么过量摄入咖啡因可能对大脑健康有害？

虽然适量咖啡因可以提高注意力和能量水平，但过量摄入咖啡因会成为压力源，刺激内分泌系统和压力激素，抑制褪黑激素的产生，扰乱睡眠和昼夜节律，从而对大脑健康产生负面影响。

食品添加剂如何影响大脑健康？

食品添加剂，包括人工色素、人工香料、防腐剂等，可能会使食品对其他生物不具吸引力，这可能意味着它们对人体健康也是有害的。这些化学物质可能会增加炎症、氧化应激，甚至干扰大脑的正常功能。

Outlines

00:00

🧠 认知退化与食物的关联

本段讨论了导致痴呆的前10种食物，并解释了食物与痴呆进展机制之间的联系。痴呆随年龄迅速增长，大脑需要能量和刺激以保持功能，而食物和环境因素会影响大脑健康。提到了线粒体在能量产生中的作用，以及遗传和表观遗传对痴呆的影响，强调了锻炼和减少炎症的重要性。

05:06

🍷 酒精与痴呆的关系

第二段强调过量饮酒会导致痴呆，因为酒精是神经毒素，会损害脑细胞，引起肠道渗漏和食物过敏，增加胰岛素抵抗和炎症，最终可能导致大脑萎缩。适量饮酒可能有益，但频繁大量饮酒会加速大脑退化。

10:09

🍚 精制碳水化合物与大脑健康

本段讨论了精制碳水化合物的危害，包括添加糖、蜂蜜、葡萄糖浆等，它们会导致血糖快速上升、脂肪肝和胰岛素抵抗。指出淀粉类食物比糖更快提高血糖，强调了减少精制碳水化合物摄入的重要性，以降低痴呆风险。

15:10

🍬 糖与大脑燃料

第四段指出糖是导致胰岛素抵抗的主要原因，这会阻碍葡萄糖进入大脑。如果减少碳水化合物摄入，身体会产生酮体作为大脑的替代燃料，有助于逆转痴呆过程。同时提到了糖的成瘾性和对肠道菌群的破坏作用。

20:15

🐟 鱼类与重金属

第五段提到鱼类对大脑的益处，尤其是Omega-3脂肪酸，但也警告了鱼类中可能含有的重金属汞，这是一种神经毒素。建议选择小型鱼类如沙丁鱼和鲱鱼，避免大型食肉鱼类和寿命长的鱼类，同时注意养殖鱼类的质量。

25:21

🍓 农药与大脑健康

本段讨论了农药对大脑的毒性，列出了所谓的'dirty dozen'，即最常使用农药的植物和蔬菜。建议选择有机食品或避免食用这些食物，以减少农药对身体和大脑的潜在损害。

🍬 人造甜味剂的风险

第六段指出人造甜味剂如阿斯巴甜和三氯蔗糖是已知的神经毒素，会破坏肠道菌群，增加炎症和过敏的风险。提醒人们不要将人造甜味剂与天然甜味剂如甜菊糖和罗汉果混淆，并建议适量食用。

🥃 不良脂肪与健康

第七段讨论了不良脂肪，特别是反式脂肪和Omega-6脂肪酸的过量摄入，这些脂肪会导致氧化和炎症。指出所谓的植物油实际上是种子油、谷物油和豆类油，它们在加工过程中容易受损和氧化。

🌶️ 食物敏感性增加因素

第八段提到食物敏感性的增加因素，如凝集素和茄科植物，以及谷物中的麸质。讨论了肠道-大脑轴的概念，即肠道健康与大脑健康之间的联系，以及如何通过改善肠道健康来减少食物敏感性。

☕ 咖啡因与大脑健康

第九段讨论了咖啡因的适量益处，如提高注意力和能量，但也警告过量摄入咖啡因会成为压力源，影响内分泌系统和睡眠激素，从而干扰睡眠和昼夜节律。

🍡 食品添加剂的影响

最后一段讨论了食品添加剂的问题，包括人工色素、香料和其他用于改善食品外观和质地的添加剂，以及防腐剂的使用。指出这些化学物质可能使食品对生物体不具吸引力，质疑这是否是人们应该选择的食物。

Keywords

💡痴呆

痴呆是指一种影响认知功能的慢性或进行性神经退行性疾病，主要表现为记忆力减退、思维和行为能力下降。视频中提到痴呆的发病率随年龄增长而急剧上升，强调了了解导致痴呆的食物和机制的重要性，以减缓痴呆的进展。

💡大脑能量

大脑能量是指大脑进行正常功能活动所需的能量。尽管大脑只占体重的2%，但它却消耗了身体总能量的20%以上。视频中指出，大脑主要通过碳水化合物和酮体这两种燃料来产生能量，而这一过程需要氧气的参与。

💡线粒体

线粒体是细胞内的一种重要细胞器，负责生产细胞所需的大部分能量。视频中提到，线粒体在氧化燃料过程中产生能量，但过多的氧化应激会导致能量产出降低，并可能加速大脑退化。

💡刺激

刺激在这里指的是对大脑的激活或挑战，以保持其功能和健康。视频中提到，缺乏刺激会导致大脑退化，这与“不使用就会失去”的原则相似，强调了持续刺激大脑的重要性。

💡表观遗传学

表观遗传学是研究基因表达调控的科学，它解释了基因如何在不同的环境和生活方式影响下开启或关闭。视频中提到，虽然我们的基因组是固定的，但表观遗传学允许我们通过生活方式的改变来影响基因的表达。

💡炎症

炎症是身体对损伤或感染的一种自然反应，但慢性低度炎症会加速大脑退化。视频中指出，炎症是导致大脑退化的主要生化驱动因素之一，包括氧化应激、环境毒素、食物过敏和肠道菌群失衡等。

💡酒精

酒精被归类为神经毒素，过量饮酒会直接损害脑细胞，并可能导致肠道渗漏和食物过敏，从而加速大脑退化。视频中特别提到，适量饮酒可能有益，但过量饮酒会加速大脑退化。

💡精制碳水化合物

精制碳水化合物是指经过加工去除纤维和其他营养成分的碳水化合物，如白面包、糖果等。视频中提到，这些食物会导致血糖迅速升高，长期过量摄入可能导致胰岛素抵抗和痴呆。

💡酮体

酮体是身体在碳水化合物供应不足时，通过分解脂肪产生的替代能源。视频中指出，当减少碳水化合物摄入时，身体会产生酮体，这可以作为大脑的替代能源，有助于逆转因高血糖导致的大脑能量不足。

💡汞

汞是一种重金属，对人体尤其是大脑具有毒性。视频中提到，虽然某些鱼类富含对大脑有益的Omega-3脂肪酸，但它们也可能含有高量的汞，因此应选择汞含量低的鱼类。

💡农药

农药是用于保护农作物免受害虫侵害的化学物质，但它们对人体和大脑可能有毒性。视频中提到所谓的“脏十二”水果和蔬菜，这些作物在生产过程中使用了大量农药，建议选择有机产品或避免食用。

💡人工甜味剂

人工甜味剂是一类用来替代糖的甜味剂，如阿斯巴甜和三氯蔗糖，它们不提供热量但具有甜味。视频中提到，这些甜味剂可能对肠道菌群有害，增加炎症和过敏的风险，并可能导致过度消费。

💡不饱和脂肪酸

不饱和脂肪酸包括Omega-3和Omega-6脂肪酸，它们对健康至关重要，但需要适量摄入。视频中指出，现代饮食中Omega-6脂肪酸的摄入量过高，这可能导致炎症和其他健康问题。

💡食品添加剂

食品添加剂是添加到食品中以改善其外观、口感或延长保质期的化学物质。视频中提到，这些添加剂可能对健康有害，尤其是防腐剂，它们可能使食品对生物体不吸引，暗示着它们可能对人体也是不健康的。

💡咖啡因

咖啡因是一种中枢神经系统的刺激剂，适量摄入可以提高注意力和能量水平。但视频中提到，过量摄入咖啡因会成为压力源，影响内分泌系统，抑制褪黑激素的产生，从而干扰睡眠和昼夜节律。

Highlights

年龄在60至90岁之间的人群中，患痴呆症的比例急剧上升，90岁后超过40%的人患有痴呆症。

大脑需要能量来保持功能，尽管它只占体重的2%，却使用了超过20%的能量。

大脑需要刺激来防止退化，类似于肌肉如果不使用就会萎缩。

遗传因素对痴呆症的发展有影响，但表观遗传学显示基因表达方式同样重要。

运动对于刺激大脑和预防痴呆症至关重要，而不仅仅是为了减肥或保持健康。

慢性低度炎症是导致退化的主要生化驱动因素，包括氧化应激和环境毒素等。

食物过敏和肠道菌群失衡也会导致炎症，进而影响大脑健康。

过量饮酒会导致神经毒性，损害脑细胞，增加痴呆症风险。

精制碳水化合物和添加糖会导致血糖升高，增加胰岛素抵抗，与痴呆症有强烈联系。

淀粉类食物在口腔中迅速分解，导致血糖迅速升高，比糖还快。

大脑可以使用酮体作为燃料，而不仅仅是葡萄糖。

食用过多的糖会导致胰岛素抵抗，从而减少大脑中的葡萄糖供应。

野生鱼类含有Omega-3，对大脑有益，但也可能含有有害的汞。

所谓的“脏一打”植物使用大量农药，这些农药对大脑有毒。

人造甜味剂如阿斯巴甜和三氯蔗糖是神经毒素，会破坏肠道菌群。

所谓的“植物油”实际上含有过多的Omega-6，并且可能已经氧化。

食物敏感性增加因素如凝集素，常见于茄科植物和某些谷物中。

肠道与大脑之间存在联系，肠道健康直接影响大脑健康。

过量摄入咖啡因可能成为压力源，影响内分泌系统和睡眠。

食品添加剂如人工色素、香料和防腐剂可能对健康产生负面影响。

Transcripts

"Hello Health Champions today we're going to talk  about the top 10 foods that cause dementia. We  

also need to understand some of the mechanisms  that drive the progression of dementia so that  

we can understand what the foods have to do with  it. Dementia progresses very, very rapidly with  

age so that between 60 and 65 years of age we  have about 1.33% dementia. Between 65 and 70  

we have about 2.2%, between 70 and 75 it rises  to 3.8%, between 75 and 80 it goes up to 6.5%,  

5 years later it's up to 11.6% and by the time  we're 90 over 20% of the population have dementia  

and then after 90 more than 40% of the population  have dementia. As you can see it progresses very,  

very rapidly and we need to understand what  the causes are and the foods are influencing  

that so we can slow down this progression. There  are some things that the brain needs that helps  

the brain stay functional and the first thing is  energy because the brain is only 2% of your body  

weight but it uses over 20% of all your energy.  On average it's 10% more metabolically active more  

needing energy than your body cells on average.  The way the brain makes energy of course is from  

fuel which is carbohydrates and ketones and in  order to oxidize that fuel it needs oxygen. Most  

of this energy is created inside your cells  in little inclusions little things called  

mitochondria they make the vast majority of all  your energy. One more thing that the brain needs  

that is absolutely essential that virtually  no one ever talks about because they just  

talk about how it makes energy but it also needs  stimulation because without stimulation it's use  

it or lose it just like a muscle if you put your  muscle in a cast if you break your arm put a cast  

then after two weeks you have lost 50% of that  muscle that's the half-life of protein and the  

brain is the same way. When we're not stimulating  when we're not driving signals to the brain on a  

regular basis then the brain starts degenerating  and deteriorating and that's one of the mechanisms  

contributing to dementia. Then there are the  factors that damage that hurt your brain that  

speed up the progression of degeneration and  one of course is poor genetics but we need to  

understand what that means because most people  think that the DNA is is set it's fixed which in  

one sense it is and another one it isn't. So when  we talk about your genome that's your setup your  

makeup of DNA that's half the chromosomes from  your mom and half the chromosomes from your dad  

they combine and they become your genome there's  nothing you can do about that that is what you're  

born with. However, what most people don't realize  is that is just like the foundation that really  

is not all that important because there's also  epigenetics which means on top of genetics and  

that is how you express it so you can have genes  that are never turned on you can have bad genes  

that are latent that are never activated you can  have good genes that you express well or that you  

express poorly and like I mentioned disuse is  very, very harmful. We need to understand that  

exercise is not about losing weight or staying  fit or looking good it's about stimulating your  

brain and then we come to the inflammation part  of it which is the biggest biochemical driver  

of degeneration which is chronic low-grade  inflammation and there's several components  

to that. One is oxidative stress which we have to  have some oxidative stress because that's how we  

make energy when those mitochondria make energy  they use oxygen we create oxidative stress but  

the cleaner things burn the more balanced things  are and if we get a lot of junk in the body then  

those mitochondria they tend to rust a little  bit they don't burn as clean it's like a little  

engine that starts smoking and now we get excess  oxidative stress and we get less energy out of it.  

There are also environmental toxins and those are  both the pollution as well as all the things that  

we add to food like preservatives and artificial  colors etc. Then there is food allergies because  

if you have a sensitivity to a food if it causes  a reaction that's an inflammatory reaction so that  

contributes more to that inflammation. Then there  is dysbiosis that we're only recently starting to  

understand how important that is because if you  have an imbalance of bacteria in your gut if you  

don't have enough of the good ones or you have too  many of the pathogenic ones now you start getting  

a little war zone you start getting chaos down in  your gut and that creates inflammation but it also  

creates damage to the lining and to the mucus  layer so now we get leaky gut and we increase  

the amount of food allergies. So you can see how  all of these things are kind of tied together that  

they depend on each other and when one thing isn't  working it makes the whole worse. Food number one,  

and these are in no particular order, is excess  alcohol. Drinking too much too frequently will  

cause premature dementia because alcohol is  a neurotoxin it directly damages brain cells  

in excess but it also causes leaky guts now it  contributes to food allergies and to inflammation  

one more way it also contributes to fatty liver  and once you have a fatty liver that tends to  

increase your degree of insulin resistance  which is another driver of inflammation and  

over time because of all these factors it  can cause brain shrinkage and we also have  

to remember that it's dose-dependent that  it's not alcohol per se it's excess alcohol  

so if you have a glass of wine or maybe two a  few times a week then that has been shown to  

have some positive effects but if you have four,  five, six drinks most days then that is probably  

going to speed up that brain degeneration. Food  number two is refined carbs and we really need to  

understand what those are because they usually  only make a big deal out of added sugar and we  

all know to look at the label and if it has added  sugar we stay away from it but added sugar that's  

the white sugar the crystals but it also in any  other form like honey or glucose syrup or agave  

or high fructose corn syrup or any of those and  what they're adding is basically a sugar that  

consists of a glucose molecule that is tied to  a fructose molecule and these are both they're  

monosaccharides meaning single and we we put  them together like in white table sugar then  

it becomes a disaccharide and this is what we're  talking about with added sugar and why is this  

so bad because the glucose portion of it will  raise blood sugar and because these carbs are  

processed then they're going to break apart very  quickly and the glucose will raise blood sugar  

the fructose will take a different path it's not  called blood sugar because it's not blood glucose  

this is fructose and that has to go through the  liver to get processed and in doing that it causes  

fatty liver it is almost on par with alcohol and  how bad and how quickly it causes a fatty liver  

and of course alcohol is bad because it causes  intoxication but at the same time that sort of  

sets a limit for how much alcohol people consume  sugar doesn't do that so there's no limit in how  

much people eat and therefore we also give it to  kids and kids now can get fatty liver at a very,  

very early age. So we all know to stay away  from that however there is also something called  

natural sugar so when that occurs in fruit it's  okay to have some berries it's okay to have fruit  

occasionally if you're not insulin resistant or  you don't have type 2 diabetes but when they dry  

the fruit then sometimes they add chemicals to  it sometimes they even add sugar to it and now  

it becomes a very concentrated form of sugar  like raisins is about 70% pure sugar just like  

that the other form is when we make juice out of  it because now we remove the pulp we remove the  

fiber we remove all the cell walls the bulk of  that fruit and now it just becomes a liquid with  

sugar floating around in it and that natural sugar  is no different it's exactly the same as the added  

sugar so even if they don't list it on the label  we need to understand the difference that there  

really is no difference we need to understand  that sugar is sugar and then there's one more  

kind of carbohydrate called starch and if we get  a little bit here and there in a sweet potato or  

some tubers that's not a big deal but when we get  it in grain we're getting way too much and we're  

getting it in processed grains now we removed a  lot of the fiber everything that slows it down so  

now that starch raises blood glucose even faster  than the sugar does and starch is nothing more,  

nothing less than these little sugar molecules  and then when we link them together two,  

three and dozens and hundreds and thousands now  that's called a starch but it's still only one  

type of molecule and then we go when we eat these  we have something called amylase in the mouth and  

that starts chopping off these little glucose  molecules the moment we get them in our mouth so  

within minutes we see a rise in glucose in blood  glucose from eating starch and like I said this  

is faster even than sugar and the reason that we  want to understand this so well and avoid excess  

carbohydrate whatever level that is for you  and your lifestyle and your genetic makeup is  

that there's such a strong connection between  glucose and insulin resistance and dementia  

that it's sometimes called type 3 diabetes and  that doesn't mean that it is a separate type of  

diabetes it just means they're trying to focus  and help us understand how strong that link is  

and to understand the link and that mechanism we  need to understand the two types of fuel that the  

brain can use and very often they talk about only  glucose if you do a Google search on fuels for the  

brain the first million hits are going to be for  glucose alone and if you talk to 99% of doctors  

they're going to tell you that the brain can only  use glucose but ketones have been critical in  

human survival and it's critical in babies babies  are born into ketosis and that helps drive that  

huge brain so when we eat a lot of sugar and we  eat a lot of starch now we raise blood glucose we  

get excess blood glucose on a regular basis and if  we get excess glucose we get excess insulin if we  

do that all the time we become insulin resistant  and here's something that was not discovered until  

very recently really like 50 years ago they  had no idea because we thought back then that  

the brain was so dependent on glucose that it  could just suck it up out of the bloodstream,  

that you didn't need insulin to get the glucose  into the brain. Well, that proved to be wrong  

because the brain does depend on insulin. So if  your cells are insulin resistant, if your muscles  

are insulin resistant, then your whole body  also becomes insulin resistant to some degree,  

and your brain cells are insulin resistant. So  for a given level of blood sugar, that means  

if your brain is insulin resistant, it gets less  glucose; it can't properly get into those brain  

cells. So here is that paradox that is responsible  for dementia in people with insulin resistance. If  

you have too high a blood glucose level, that  results in less glucose in the brain. So the  

more sugar you eat, the more your brain starves.  Some people would look at that and say, "Oh, well,  

the body is pretty stupid sometimes; that seems  like a defective design." I would beg to differ.  

I would say that it's a defective lifestyle that  we have introduced something in the last 50 years,  

50 to 100 years, that humans have never ever seen  before. We have never had the abundance of sugar  

and starch, especially processed starch,  that we've had in the last few decades.

Food number three is sugar, and just like we  talked about, sugar is the number one cause of  

insulin resistance, which keeps that glucose  out of the brain. If we keep eating sugar,  

there's never going to be any ketones to fuel  the brain. But if we cut back enough on the  

carbohydrates, now, even if we're insulin  resistant, we're going to make some ketones  

that can fuel the brain and start reversing that  process. The reason that sugar, this disaccharide,  

is even worse than the starch is that  it's 50% fructose, which causes a fatty  

liver and is also highly addictive. Another  problem is that it contributes to dysbiosis;  

it messes up your biome and thereby causes leaky  guts, more food allergies, and so forth. But we  

still have to remember that it is a very natural  molecule. This molecule, the glucose, and to some  

degree the sugar, is part of all foods, but the  dose makes the poison. When we concentrate it,  

refine it, and eat too much of something,  that's when it becomes very damaging. It's  

not carbohydrates per se, because leafy greens and  non-starchy vegetables still have some sugar, but  

there's so little, and there's so much water and  fiber that those foods behave nothing like this.

Food number four is fish, and this is a little  confusing because, on the one hand, if you  

get clean wild-caught fish, it can be incredibly  beneficial for the brain because it has Omega-3s,  

EPA, and DHA. DHA is the main building block for  brain tissue, so we absolutely have to have that.  

It also provides a really good source of protein.  But wild fish can also have mercury. It's a heavy  

metal, a neurotoxin, and it's incredibly  destructive; it will literally chew away  

and dissolve brain tissue in excess. So we want  to make sure that we get fish that have very,  

very low amounts of mercury. The high amounts  of mercury are in the fish that are predatory,  

that eat other fish, because all fish  absorb a little bit from the water,  

but then the large fish that eat the smaller  fish concentrate that. When they're predatory,  

they're usually larger, live longer, and the  longer they live, the more they accumulate this  

mercury, this toxin. So the safe fish to eat are  typically very small fish like sardine, herring,  

and to some degree, mackerel, as long as you  don't eat the king mackerel that get huge. Also,  

the small flat fish like sole and flounder, and  cod are very safe. The ones you want to avoid  

are swordfish, tuna, and any other large predatory  fish or any fish that lives for a very long time.  

Then there's farmed fish, and in some cases,  that could be okay if they farm it responsibly,  

give it good quality nutrients like natural food  for that species, and keep it in good conditions  

with clean water and no parasites or mold, or all  the things that can occur. But for the most part,  

they're just trying to save a buck, and the  conditions are usually very deplorable. So  

they feed the fish low-quality foods, the  cheapest thing that will keep them alive,  

and very often they also feed them hormones,  antibiotics, chemicals, and artificial colors.

Number five is what I call the dirty dozen, and  those are the types of plants that are most often  

using a lot of chemicals, a lot of pesticides to  produce them. Pesticides are toxic to the body and  

toxic to the brain. On this year's list, we have  strawberries, nectarines, blueberries, apples,  

grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, and plums.  You want to check for what's going on in your  

region because it's going to differ between  different countries, different continents,  

as there are different farming practices, and  also they change over time. These items can  

vary from year to year. Among the vegetables,  we have bell pepper, hot peppers, green beans,  

tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale,  and celery. These are the foods that you want  

to pay extra attention to, and either you get  them organic or you pass by altogether and eat  

something else. Very often, they're going to say  they're still better than none, so eating sprayed  

toxic plants is still better than not eating them  at all because plants are so good for you. Now  

that's just one of those things that we've heard  and it's been repeated so often that nobody really  

thinks about it. For some people, that's going  to be true. If they have a good tolerance against  

toxins, if they have a strong gastrointestinal  tract, if they have a strong liver, they can  

probably break down those pesticides pretty  well. But if you have a genetic weakness,  

if you have various genetic variants where you  don't tolerate, where you don't break down toxins  

so well, then that's probably not going to be  true for you. Then it's probably better to avoid  

them altogether. If you have a weak microbiome,  if there's imbalance or dysfunction, now you're  

going to be more prone to food intolerance, you're  not going to have that protective mucus layer,  

and you'll also be more sensitive to various forms  of toxins. The other thing to understand is that  

all of these pesticides, all this spraying, all  these chemicals, it's a very modern thing. It's  

all happened basically in the last 50 years.  In the previous 50,000 or a million years,  

there were no pesticides. Our genetic makeup,  our genome, has never seen pesticides. Even  

if one isn't going to do all that much damage,  today we have hundreds and thousands of them,  

and that body burden starts piling on top  of each other. So it's something that we  

really need to pay attention to and start really  understanding what food is. It always cracks me  

up when I go into a store and see a little sign  and a little section that says "natural food." I  

always ask myself, if that's the natural  food, then what's the rest of the store?

Number six is artificial sweeteners, and I'm  going to mention a couple that are more common  

than the others. The first is aspartame, which  goes under the brand name NutraSweet. This is a  

well-established neurotoxin. When people did  poorly on that one and started complaining,  

they brought out another one called sucralose,  which goes under the brand name Splenda. Now we  

have sucralose in 5 to 10,000 different products.  For several years, they said Splenda is the new  

thing, the clean thing, it's made from natural  things, it's not going to harm you. But of course,  

it's artificial, so it will do damage. Very  recently, they found that it starts breaking apart  

DNA. Both of these will disrupt your gut bacteria,  and in doing that, they contribute to leaky gut,  

more inflammation, and allergies, etc. The biggest  reason that they've brought these to the market is  

that people are starting to understand how bad  sugar is, but we still have that sweet tooth  

and that addiction. So now they're marketing  this as a no-calorie alternative, and people  

see it as a good thing and start overconsuming  it. The whole idea was that if you drink or  

consume these artificial ones, you lose weight.  Sugar puts on the weight; if you stop the sugar,  

you lose the weight. But unfortunately, it doesn't  work like that because it also tends to increase  

cravings. You eat something sweet, but you're  not getting anything of substance, so now your  

body starts looking for more and more and more.  Also, people confuse these artificial sweeteners  

with Stevia and Monk Fruit because they're  all non-caloric sweeteners, but they're not  

all artificial. Stevia and Monk Fruit are natural;  they're plant extracts. In moderation, I would say  

that they're okay. If you start overconsuming,  thinking it's a good thing that you can eat it  

unlimited, then there's some evidence that it may  actually start to disrupt your microbiome as well.

Number seven is bad fats, and it's not what  you usually hear that saturated fat is bad  

fat. Saturated fat is very stable and safe to  consume; it's a very stable source of energy  

and doesn't cause any inflammation in the  body. The bad fats are damaged fats, and these  

are primarily trans fats. They realized how bad  they are, so now they're moving away from trans  

fats. But instead, they tell us to start consuming  vegetable oils, and these are not vegetable oils  

at all. They're seed oils, grain oils, and legume  oils. The problem with these is that they have  

too much Omega-6. A little bit of Omega-6 is  okay, but today we're getting like 20 times more  

Omega-6s than we should have, and most of that  is coming from these so-called vegetable oils.  

An even bigger problem is that they're processed  so harshly. They have to use high temperature,  

high pressure, and chemicals to get the fat,  the oil out of these sources, and in doing that,  

they damage the oils and oxidize them. So now  we have another source of excess oxidation and  

free radicals. Another source of bad fats is  fried foods when you use vegetable oils. These  

are already damaged, they're already high  in Omega-6s, and now when you fry things  

and reuse that oil over and over, you're just  increasing the damage and oxidation over and over.

Number eight is anything that increases food  sensitivities. One thing that can do that is  

called lectins, and they're usually associated  with a group of plants called nightshades.  

Nightshades are things like eggplant, bell pepper,  tomato, and potato. There are many more, but these  

are probably the ones that people consume the  most. However, it's not just these nightshades,  

but grains like rye, barley, and rice also have  lectins. The biggest grain to stay away from is  

modern wheat because it is processed,  hybridized in so many different ways,  

it's not really a food anymore, and it  is also the richest source of gluten,  

the type of gluten that people tend to react to.  Then there's something called the gut-brain axis.  

If we disrupt the gut bacteria and damage that  mucus protection, we get leaky gut. Now all sorts  

of things start leaking through, getting into  the bloodstream. Anything that gets into the  

bloodstream, anything that causes a leaky gut  will tend to create a leaky brain. The things  

that get out into the bloodstream are going to  circulate and start creating brain inflammation,  

which can be very damaging and really progress the  development of dementia. But again, this does not  

mean that these are bad foods. It's going to  be important for some people to avoid these,  

but if you start restoring your microbiome,  if you start getting a healthy gut again,  

you can probably get to the point where  these things do not become a problem.

Number nine is excess caffeine. Here's one more  thing that can actually have some benefit in  

low doses. It tends to improve focus and  give you a little bit of energy. However,  

if you start having high doses, if you start  depending on it to stay awake and get things done,  

if you're not limiting yourself to two cups but  you're having six, seven, eight, ten cups a day,  

now it becomes a stressor. It will drive your  endocrine system and your stress hormones,  

and anything driving the stress hormones  will also shut off melatonin, which is  

your sleep hormone that regulates  your sleep and circadian rhythm.

Number ten is food additives. These are things  that we add to make things look a certain way  

or feel a certain way. We have artificial  colors, artificial flavors, and then there's  

tons and tons of other additives that are  texturizers and keep things from separating  

and so forth. Then there are preservatives,  and that sounds like such a positive thing,  

right? We add preservatives; we preserve the  food. Now, if you do canning and things like that,  

that's okay; that's a totally different  thing. But when they add chemicals,  

basically what they're doing is they're making  the food so unattractive that no other living  

things want it. You have to ask yourself,  is that what your body is looking for? Is  

that what you want to feed yourself if it's so  unattractive that not even the mold wants it?

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