Healthy Eating: A Guest Blog by Maria Dellanina, RDN

Photo by Jason Tuinstra on Unsplash

Eating for Brain Health Part 3- Foods to LIMIT

Sodium

• Excessive sodium intake over time may lead to high blood pressure.

• High blood pressure is hard on brain and other body systems because blood vessels can become damaged and prevent proper blood flow.

• When shopping, see if there are “low-sodium” options compared to what you’re already buying.

• Use a bit of coarse-grain salt (like Kosher or Sea Salt) at the END of cooking instead of throughout cooking. The larger grain hits your tongue so you recognize the saltiness without so much sodium.

Added Sugar

• Limit to 25g per day.

• Found in many “staple” foods now such as yogurts, oatmeals, sauces, etc.

• Check your nutrition labels for ADDED SUGAR rather than total sugar.

• I believe daily added sugar should come mostly from our “treat foods” such as a 1/2 c. ice cream or a small cookie, rather than from our everyday staple foods.

Trans fats

• Trans fats are mostly out of grocery store products now (small amounts still in packaged cookies, chips, etc.).

• Limiting fried foods, and therefore, limiting our intake of trans fats is recommended for both brain health and overall health.

• Look at the number of grams of trans fat on the Nutrition Facts label. Choose products with the lowest amount.

• Check the ingredient list: limit foods made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil and shortening.

• In the food industries push to reduce trans fats, some have replaced with saturated fats, don’t go crazy over this stuff, just be aware and while you’re checking the label anyway, we want to see higher monounsaturated and polyunsaturated vs. trans and saturated fats.

• Choose olive oil, avocado oil canola oil, vegetable oils most often as oil sources.