Neurosurgeon shares the 3 foods to avoid as they can 'shrink the brain'

An experienced neurosurgeon has warned followers of the dangers three common foods can pose for your brain. Dr Raveesh Sunkara, based in Hyderabad, India, claims to have completed more than 1,000 neurosurgeries and has underlined the importance of diet to prevent cognitive decline.

Cognitive impairment can refer to a decrease in mental abilities such as memory loss, hazed thinking, reasoning and trouble problem-solving. Dr Sunkara, @Dr_Raveesh on Instagram, has amassed more than 50,000 followers on the video-sharing platform with his clips detailing health tips and behind-the-scenes access to neurosurgery.

Some of the neurosurgeon's videos have been watched more than 2million times, but his video on foods to avoid surprised many of his followers.

Dr Sunkara kicked off his video by stating: "Number one is food containing a lot of trans fat, such as deep-fried food or packaged snacks. They cause a lot of inflammation in the brain and lead to a lot of problems long term.”

This means cutting a variety of processed and fried foods commonly found in the UK through favourites such as pastries, cakes, biscuits and more.

The advice aligns with several studies, including a 2014-published paper titled 'Saturated and trans fats and dementia: a systematic review', by Neal D Barnard, Anne E Bunner and Ulka Agarwal, which links food intake with dementia.

“Number 2 is high sugary drinks. High sugar causes blood glucose spikes, especially in the form of liquid," explained Dr Sunkara.

"It causes a lot of spikes leading up to brain fatigue over time. This, in the long term, can even shrink your brain.”

A study found on the scientific research paper database, ScienceDirect backs this notion, stating that "reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake can be a preventive strategy for cognitive disorders."

Excessive consumption of these products, particularly in older patients, was linked to memory problems and other forms of cognitive decline.

“Finally, the third is ultra-processed food, which causes a lot of gut issues," Dr Sunkara concluded.

Ultra-processed foods differ from processed foods with the former undergoing a more extensive industrial processing when packaged, often containing ingredients not commonly used in home cooking, such as artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives.

Dr Sunkara added: "This leads to disruption of the gut-brain axis. Remember, your brain runs on what you eat.”

The United States government's National Library of Medicine has published a study, titled 'Association Between Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods and Cognitive Decline', which suggests a link between the two.

The paper states that "In a cohort study of 10,775 individuals, higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher rate of global and executive function decline after a median follow-up of 8 years."