7 Common Foods That May Accelerate Brain Aging

Dec 23, 2025 - 10:56 Updated: Dec 22, 2025 - 15:34

7 Common Foods That May Accelerate Brain Aging

What we eat—from specific nutrients to daily dietary patterns and eating habits—can affect the health of our nervous system, influencing the risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and other neurological disorders.

“Your brain uses about 20 percent of the calories you consume. Every bite is either helping it or hurting it,” said Dr. Daniel Amen, a double board-certified psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

Some foods you eat every day may be working against brain health. Experts say these seven are among the most concerning.

1. Sugary Foods and Drinks

“High-sugar foods and drinks cause a quick spike and crash in blood glucose, which can hurt attention, focus, learning, and memory,” Delia McCabe, a nutritional neuroscientist, told The Epoch Times via email.

A 2023 meta-analysis published in Nutrients reviewed 77 studies with more than 17,000 participants to see how sugar influences cognition. Most long-term studies found that higher added sugar intake was linked to a greater risk of memory and thinking problems, while natural sugars from whole foods, such as fruit, appeared to have some protective effects.

“Recent studies suggest that the chronic inflammation caused by eating too much refined sugar can, over time, harm the central nervous system,” Destini Moody, a registered dietitian at Live It Up, told The Epoch Times. “This may increase the risk of developing conditions ranging from stroke to Parkinson’s disease. This type of neuroinflammation uniquely and negatively affects brain function linked to neurodegenerative disorders.”

Another large cohort study of nearly 178,000 adults in the UK followed people for about 9.5 years to see how different drinks relate to dementia. People who drank more than two sugar-sweetened drinks a day had a higher risk of dementia. However, those who drank a small amount of natural juice each day had a lower risk of dementia and healthier-looking brain scans, with more gray matter and fewer white-matter abnormalities.

2. Refined Carbohydrates

While carbohydrates provide essential energy, the type and quality of carbs you eat matter a lot for long-term health. Unlike complex carbs, which are found in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes that release energy slowly, refined carbs—such as those in white bread, pastries, and cereals—have most of their fiber and nutrients removed.

“Most refined carbohydrates are simply chains of glucose that the body breaks down very quickly, so the brain experiences them almost like liquid sugar,” Alexa Ryan, a neurotherapist and clinical nutritionist, told The Epoch Times.

“So, if someone is eating cereal, white bread, crackers, and baked goods all day, their brain is in the same biochemical environment as someone drinking sugar-sweetened beverages—even if they never add a spoonful of sugar to anything,” said Ryan.

Refined carbohydrates can contribute to weight gain and metabolic problems, changes that eventually affect the brain by causing blood-sugar spikes and weakened satiety signals, research shows. With continued intake, this pattern may lead to insulin resistance and inflammation, which are known to affect brain function and increase the risk of compulsive eating.

3. Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners solve the immediate problem of sugar spikes—but may create a different one.

Regular intake of artificial sweeteners may affect how the brain ages. In an eight-year study of more than 12,000 adults, published in Neurology, researchers examined whether low- and no-calorie sweeteners—including aspartame, saccharin, erythritol, and xylitol—were linked to changes in thinking and memory. They found that people under 60 who ate the most artificial sweeteners had slightly faster declines in memory and verbal fluency compared to those who ate the least. This decline was roughly equivalent to about 1.6 extra years of normal aging among the highest consumers. The association was strongest in people with diabetes.

“Artificial sweeteners create a different mismatch that the brain has to sort out,” Ryan said. The taste of something sweet is meant to signal to the brain to expect calories, she noted. When the tongue keeps telling the brain “sweet” but no calories arrive, the reward system must adapt.

Research suggests that some nonnutritive sweeteners can alter dopamine signaling in reward pathways, which may change appetite, cravings, and even preferences for intensely sweet foods.

In addition, “artificial sweeteners can alter gut bacteria and interfere with serotonin production, the neurotransmitter most closely linked to mood and well-being,” Amen said.

He noted that about 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut, meaning disruptions to the gut microbiome can increase anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Research shows that if the gut microbiome is disrupted, it can allow toxins to build up, and cognitive function may decline, increasing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

4. Drinking Alcohol

Recent research is challenging the long-held belief that moderate drinking is harmless.

A large study of more than 36,000 middle-aged and older adults in the UK used detailed brain imaging and found that even small amounts of alcohol—just one to two drinks a day—were linked to lower overall brain volume, reduced gray matter in several regions, and weaker white matter connections, changes associated with aging and cognitive decline. These negative effects became stronger as alcohol intake increased.

“All parts of the brain are vulnerable to alcohol because of how it affects mitochondrial function—the tiny organelles within our neurons that produce energy (ATP),” said McCabe.

5. Margarine and Processed Vegetable Oils

Margarine was marketed for decades as a heart-healthy alternative to butter—but many formulations contained trans fats and processed seed oils.

Research has linked trans fats to a higher risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and general memory decline. While many reformulated margarines are now largely free of trans fats, some products still have them, so checking the label is essential.

“Removing trans fats from margarine doesn’t make it a healthy food,” Ryan said. “It simply makes it less harmful than before. Most margarines are still made with heavily processed seed oils, which is the reality behind the marketing spin of a ‘redesigned’ processed product.”

Ryan added that while the body does need some omega-6 fats, it needs far fewer of them than omega-3s—yet modern diets have shifted that balance in the wrong direction. Many common seed oils, including soybean, corn, sunflower, and safflower oils, are very high in linoleic acid, a type of omega-6 fatty acid, linked to increased inflammation in the brain. When these oils are heavily refined or repeatedly heated for deep frying, they create even more harmful oxidative byproducts.

“That combination of excess omega-6 and oxidation places a real burden on the brain,” Ryan said, noting that these changes can drive oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation, all of which are tied to cognitive decline.

6. Processed Red Meats

Eating large amounts of processed red meat, such as hot dogs, bacon, and sausages, is linked to poorer brain health. A cohort study of more than 133,000 U.S. adults found that higher intake of processed red meat was associated with an increased risk of dementia and faster cognitive aging. Eating too much unprocessed red meat may also affect memory.

However, swapping just one daily serving of processed red meat for nuts or legumes lowered dementia risk by 19 percent and slowed cognitive aging.

“Processed meats often contain saturated fats and preservatives that react under high heat,” said Moody. “When they’re cooked this way, those compounds can turn into carcinogens and other inflammatory molecules that damage the body’s cells, including brain cells.”

7. High-Sodium Foods

While sodium is essential for proper nerve function, maintaining a balance is important.

In a 2020 systematic review of middle-aged and older adults, researchers found that reducing sodium intake improved cognition over six months, while high-quality observational studies suggested that higher dietary salt intake may be linked to poorer cognitive function and an increased risk of dementia.

Ryan noted that high sodium can damage the tiny blood vessels, leading to reduced blood flow across different brain areas. Clinically, this may result in slower processing, increased brain fog, and a higher risk of vascular dementia.

“The brain lives at the end of the vascular tree, so anything that harms blood vessels will show up as cognitive problems,” Ryan said.

How to Protect Your Brain

While the occasional poor choice is unlikely to harm your brain, dietary consistency is important.

“It is very easy for us to fall into bad dietary habits because more dopamine is released when we eat chocolate compared to broccoli, for example,” McCabe said. “This means we can quickly develop habits that favor the dopamine jolt from tasty but nutrient-deficient foods.”

The following strategies can help support and maintain brain health:

Cut Ultra-Processed and Fried Foods: Cook at home with stable, healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil at appropriate temperatures, and include omega-3-rich foods such as fish, chia seeds, or flax seeds.
Choose Natural Sweetness: Opt for whole fruits or low-glycemic sweeteners such as date sugar or coconut sugar instead of relying on artificial sweeteners.
Eat Nutrient-Dense, Colorful Meals: Fill your plate with vegetables, fiber, clean protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to support brain health and cognition into older age.
Move Often: Take short five to 10-minute walking or stretching breaks throughout the day to reduce inflammation and support brain function.
Prioritize Sleep: Aim for seven to eight hours of consistent sleep and combine it with meditation, journaling, social interaction, stress management, and regular exercise for the greatest benefit.
Include Polyphenol-Rich Foods: Add berries, dark chocolate, green tea, and colorful fruits and vegetables to support brain development, function, and long-term resilience.

“Your brain is your most precious organ,” Amen said. “When you nourish it, every part of your life, including your mood, memory, relationships, and sense of purpose, gets better.”