What if our daily diet silently prepared the land for dementia? Behind the promises of food supplements and well-stocked stalls of supermarkets, there are sometimes invisible threats: microplastics, heavy metals, ultra-transformed foods … More and more studies establish a link between these toxic substances and the cognitive decline, even the appearance of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer. Investigation of these risks which accumulate, without our knowledge, in our brain.
Microplastics: slow but formidable infiltration
Microplastics are everywhere, and they even penetrate where we thought our protected organism: in the brain. According to a study published in Nature Medicinewe find these tiny particles not only in the kidneys or the liver, but especially in alarming quantities in the brain fabric – even more in patients with dementia.
These plastic fragments are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, this border supposed to protect the brain from external aggressions. Once in the brain, they can promote the formation of amyloid plates, characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease, cause cellular blockages, and even trigger brain thrombosis.
Contaminated fish: Should we say goodbye to salmon and tuna?
The sea is no longer the healthy pantry of yesteryear. Crustaceans, coastal fish or large marine predators have become microplastic sponges and heavy metals. According to the toxicologist Zhao Mingwei, it is preferable to opt for small fish (palm size) from unpolled areas, and systematically avoid viscera (liver, intestines) which concentrate toxins. Even the edge soups, so popular, are now suspect …
Vitamin D, Probiotics, Enzymes, Calcium … Health supplements attract more and more French, especially seniors. But when they are in the form of capsules, they can contain microplastic from the gelatinous envelope. Zhao Alert: taken daily for decades, these microplastics also end up accumulating in the brain.
His advice: favor forms in powdered or GMP certified or GMP certified tablets, and avoid the simultaneous overconsumption of several products.
Ultra-transformed foods: the invisible enemy of the brain
The link between junk food and obesity is known. But that between ultra-transformed foods and cognitive decline is much less. A study published in JAMA Neurology shows that these products, widely modified to the point of losing their original composition, are associated with accelerated brain aging.
From fake jam to corn to reconstituted vegetable similarities, these foods can contain toxins from multiple manufacturing stages. The danger? These industrial residues would be the cause of an increase in cardiovascular diseases, cancers … and early dementia.
The body can evacuate certain toxic – the solubles in water in particular – by urine. But liposoluble toxins accumulate more easily in fatty tissues … like the brain. To limit them, Zhao recommends a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, sources of antioxidants, and the regular practice of moderate physical exercise to activate the circulation and elimination by the kidneys.
Dementia figures explode in industrialized countries, and our lifestyles are more and more questioned. While the laboratories are looking for remedies, it might be more judicious to prevent, by finding the basics of a simple, not very transformed, and quality diet. A public health issue … and civilization.
Photo credit: DR
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