Regularly eating processed foods with flavor additives, like those found in sauces, cereals, frozen meals, and takeout, may contribute to brain problems.
The textbook words swam before Emily’s eyes, refusing to stick in her memory. At 42, she had finally returned to college to study advanced psychology, but something wasn’t right. Despite hours of determined study, crucial details kept slipping away.
She’d walk into a room and forget why, misplace her carefully organized notes, and draw frustrating blanks during exams. Simple tasks that had once been routine now required intense concentration. Emily wondered why she felt too old for this.
But the truth behind her mental fog had nothing to do with age–and everything to do with what was in her meals.
Emily thought she ate pretty healthfully, focusing on plenty of protein and vegetables every day. A chance conversation about diet with a friend led her to discover that her “healthy” meals—the convenient frozen dinners, ready-made sauces, protein bars, and occasional takeout that fueled her busy student-mom life–harbored hidden ingredients that were quietly sabotaging her learning ability and brain function.
Hidden Ingredients That Affect The Brain
To function properly, the brain relies on a balance between two main chemicals: glutamate—the main excitatory neurotransmitter, meaning it stimulates nerve cells, making them more likely to fire an electrical signal—and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning it works to calm down or inhibit nerve activity.
Glutamate is both an amino acid (the building block of protein) and the most abundant neurotransmitter in the brain. It plays a vital role in health, responsible for about 40 percent of our nervous system activation and mood regulation. However, too much glutamate from food can cause overstimulation, leading to brain inflammation and various symptoms.
Kathleen Holton, a nutritional neuroscientist at American University in Washington, D.C., focuses her work on the effects of dietary excitotoxins—chemicals that “excite” neurons in the brain. Holton told The Epoch Times that certain amino acids, such as glutamate, found both naturally and artificially in modern foods, directly act on receptors in the brain.
Overconsumption of artificially made glutamic acid can cause sensitivity in some people, according to Holton. Reactions occur when the amounts ingested exceed an individual’s tolerance.
The hippocampus, the brain’s center for memory formation, is particularly vulnerable to manufactured glutamate found in processed foods. Research shows chronic stress further increases glutamate release in the hippocampus, compounding learning and memory deficits.
Symptoms seen in research include headaches and problems with focus and attention. Holton says these cognitive issues can be frustrating and lead to irritability and mood problems when people can’t think clearly.
