3 'Inflammatory' Foods That Can Take A Toll On Your Brain Health: Egg Whites, Seed Oils, More

Brain health is crucial for overall well-being, affecting everything from memory and focus to mood and cognitive function. The brain is highly sensitive to inflammation, which can disrupt its normal functioning and contribute to various mental health disorders and cognitive decline. Certain foods, particularly those high in refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives , can trigger inflammation in the body. This chronic inflammation can lead to oxidative stress and damage brain cells, impairing cognitive abilities and increasing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Neuroscientist Robert Love , who has over 2.2M followers on TikTok, shared three inflammatory foods he thinks you should minimize if you want to protect your brain. He revealed that refined sugar, seed oils, and egg whites are the ones to watch out for. Read on to find out more.

1. Refined Sugar

Love states that the food industry has figured out ways to say sugar in various ways on food labels, making it difficult to know how much we’re actually consuming. He says, “ Processed sugar is absolutely terrible for your brain. First, it contributes to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is one of the primary risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.”

That’s not all; he notes that “refined sugar can create something called AGEs, advanced glycation end products,” inside your body. AGEs “create more inflammation and accelerate aging,” he reveals.

2. Seed Oils

Love points out that seed oils are another inflammatory ingredient that the food industry often portrays as harmless, but they can actually be detrimental to your brain health.

Most of these oils come from seeds, and Love lists some examples, which are peanut oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, and vegetable oil.

These oils are shelf stable (one reason the food industry giants prefer them), and the reason these oils are bad for brain health is because they are “highly inflammatory,” Love says. Inflammation is a primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and Love says that by consuming these oils, “it increases the risk of almost every chronic disease, from heart disease to diabetes to many types of cancer,” and of course, Alzheimer’s.

3. Egg Whites

This one comes as a shock, but Love explains why egg whites are on the list.

Love says egg whites “reduce the absorption of biotin. Biotin is important for growth in your body, and it’s also important for hair, skin, and nails. So, eating egg whites, though it is rich in protein, egg whites without the egg yolk can actually be damaging because it inhibits the absorption of biotin (read more about biotin here ).”

Biotin, also known as vitamin B7, primarily supports the brain by contributing to overall neurological health. While biotin is most famous for its role in maintaining healthy hair, skin, and nails, it also plays a crucial part in various metabolic processes that can influence brain function.

One way biotin can help brain function is that it’s essential for synthesizing certain neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that transmit signals between nerve cells. Healthy neurotransmitter levels are crucial for mood regulation, cognitive function, and overall brain health.

While more research is needed to fully understand the direct impact of biotin on cognitive function and mood, maintaining adequate biotin levels supports overall brain health, which can contribute to better cognitive performance and mood stability.

So, what should you do instead? Love says to eat the whole egg ! He recommends pastured eggs (meaning the chicken has been outside) for brain health because just organic and range-free is not good enough.