Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French gastronome in 1826 wrote, ‘Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are’, and the statement could not be any more correct. What you eat truly defines your entire being. For instance, a healthy diet not only keeps you physically fit but also has a huge and positive impact on neurons, the major cells of your brain.
An unhealthy diet that is rich in fats and sugars causes inflammation of neurons and inhibits the formation of new neurons in the brain. This affects the way the brain works and contributes to brain disorders like depression, stress, and anxiety. About 75 percent of the population in Pakistan suffers from depression. Eating disorders and the increase in junk intake might be the leading cause of depression in youngsters today.
Moreover, an unhealthy diet allows the body to release higher levels of stress hormones. The stress hormones activate the brain’s microglia and astrocytes. This activation inflames certain parts of the brain, including the hippocampus. Inflammation in the hippocampus negatively affects our cognitive abilities.
Proper, healthy nutrition can benefit the brain in various positive ways. A healthy diet promotes neurogenesis, a process that increases the production of new neurons in the brain. Our diet also affects the synaptic plasticity of the brain. Synaptic plasticity is a measure of the number of connections between neurons. The higher the connections between neurons, the better they communicate, and the better we can learn, think, and memorize.