How Food Changes Your Brain

Every time you take a bite of food, you’re voting for the health of your body and your brain. Our diet is so much more important than just the calories in our foods, or even the fats, carbs and proteins. However, most people tend to undervalue the significance of diet in brain health. In this post, we explore 5 of the most important ways food changes the brain.

1. Your food turns into the physical building blocks of your brain. Like every other part of our bodies, our brains are made up of atoms joined into molecules. These molecules don’t just appear spontaneously; unlike plants, we’re not able to convert large amounts of atmospheric CO₂ into our physical structure. This means that our brain matter is comprised almost entirely of cells built from our food. To this end, the goal of building higher quality brain cells out of higher quality foods is a great reason to choose our diet carefully. Since our neurons are especially rich in unsaturated fats like omega-3s, many experts recommend consuming several grams of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA each day to support brain health.
2. Your mood and cognition are impacted by your food choices. While it’s easy to overemphasize the importance of a single meal on our cognitive or mental state, it’s also true that our mood and clarity of thought are affected by our diet. The best evidence for this comes from states of deficiency. For example, Vitamin B1 deficiency can lead to memory loss and delusions, while vitamin B12 deficiency can contribute to a host of brain issues ranging from cognitive decline to depression. In addition, dietary intake of protein, certain amino acids, and sugar—and omega-3-containing foods—all appear to influence mood.
3. Your brain’s immune system is influenced by your diet. One of the most important reconceptualizations of brain health in the last decades relates to the role of the brain’s immune system. We now know that brain immunity significantly impacts mood, cognition and behavior (and even the risk for violence). To this end, our dietary choices affect our brain’s immune system in a number of ways, especially by way of influencing the gut microbiome.
4. The rewiring of your brain (neuroplasticity) is altered by food. Each moment of the day, our brains are being rewired by our life experiences. This process can be either helpful or harmful, depending on the situation. Many converging areas of brain research suggest that impairments in healthy brain rewiring can underlie a range of mental and cognitive problems. In addition, a number of recent publications have suggested that this rewiring can be influenced by what we eat.
5. Your brain metabolism is affected by your food choices. While it’s only around 2 to 3 pounds in weight, the brain consumes around 20% of the body’s energy. This incredible use of glucose and ATP speaks to the importance of ensuring that the brain gets consistent access to high-quality energy across the lifespan. A number of researchers are focused on the idea that lack of quality energy in the brain may speed or increase one's risk for many brain health conditions, and emphasize the key role of a balanced diet and healthy blood sugar levels in protecting the brain against these issues.

As the research connecting diet and brain health continues to expand, the reality is that all of us can and should be taking steps to eat a diet that supports our brains right now. Diet can be complicated, and those with pre-existing medical issues may benefit from individualization. However, the best-studied diet for brain health to date is a Mediterranean style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, healthy fats, fish and seafood and herbs and spices and low in highly-processed foods.