Posted on 08/06/2025 7:54:12 AM PDT by Red Badger
Doctors will often tell you to avoid processed foods or foods that contain high amounts of sugar or saturated fat.
Their advice is sound, since consuming these foods frequently can increase your risk of developing chronic diseases, including neurological conditions like stroke and dementia.
However, as a neurologist, I can tell you that there are some other surprising and lesser-known foods you should avoid in order to prevent serious neurological issues.
I never eat these four foods:
1. Canned foods that appear damaged
If a can is bulging, cracked, or severely dented, it should raise an alarm. It might be a sign of botulinum contamination, which can cause botulism.
The botulinum toxin is one of the most potent neurotoxins known to science. It blocks the release of a neurotransmitter that helps your brain tell your muscles to move. The result can be limb paralysis, blurred vision, and, in severe cases, respiratory failure. Without an antidote, botulism can be fatal.
What makes this toxin particularly dangerous is that you can’t detect it by smell, taste, or sight. Unfortunately, heating the food in a contaminated can may not be enough to neutralize the toxin.
Remember this motto: “When in doubt, throw it out.”
2. Certain reef fish, especially in tropical areas
I love eating fish and I encourage my patients to consume varieties like salmon, sardines, and trout, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in mercury.
However, I advise caution when it comes to larger tropical fish such as barracuda, grouper, sturgeon, moray eel, and amberjack. They may contain a neurotoxin called ciguatoxin, especially if they were caught in places with coral reefs like the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
I’ve personally seen a few cases of ciguatera poisoning, and symptoms can include a sensation of coldness, burning, tingling, dizziness, or even vivid nightmares. Because some of these symptoms are non-specific, it can be easily misdiagnosed, especially without a detailed patient history.
The kicker is that ciguatoxin is heat-stable, meaning that no matter how long you cook the fish, the toxin remains intact. And like the botulinum toxin, it doesn’t have a taste or smell.
Try to limit your intake of large predatory fish, avoid certain parts like liver, roe, and heads, and be particularly cautious in endemic areas.
3. Uncooked or undercooked pork
The risk here is neurocysticercosis, a condition caused by ingesting the eggs of the pork tapeworm. The tapeworm’s larvae can travel to the brain and cause a variety of symptoms, including seizures, increased intracranial pressure, and even dementia-like symptoms. Brain imaging typically shows multiple cysts in the person’s brain.
Neurocysticercosis is one of the leading causes of acquired epilepsy worldwide. And while it isn’t very common in developed countries, I have seen cases in the U.S.
So if you travel frequently to or spend significant time in developing countries — or anywhere with poor sanitation — cook pork thoroughly and practice good hand hygiene.
4. Unpasteurized milk
When milk is pasteurized, it’s treated with heat to eliminate microorganisms that can cause disease. The process does reduce the concentrations of certain vitamins, but the impact is minimal.
Raw milk, on the other hand, is a well-recognized source of pathogens such as listeria, E. coli, and salmonella. Drinking it causes approximately 840 times more illnesses and 45 times more hospitalizations than pasteurized milk, despite being consumed by a small minority of the population.
Current data shows that children, pregnant women, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals are at highest risk for severe outcomes, including hemolytic uremic syndrome, miscarriage, and death.
I’ve personally seen cases of irreversible damage to the brain leading to seizures, meningitis, and coma that were caused by pathogens from unpasteurized products.
And claims that drinking unpasteurized milk lowers rates of asthma, cancer, or lactose intolerance? Those are unsubstantiated.
Of course, you should always consult with a health care professional before making any drastic changes to your diet. The key is to be more mindful and aware of what we put into our bodies, especially if it can be damaging to our brain health.
Baibing Chen is a double-boarded certified neurologist and epileptologist practicing at the University of Michigan. Find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
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I have, in fact, outlasted multiple sets of dive tanks and regulators. We are as old as we feel.
He didn’t mention things found on the ground.
I avoid drinking milk. I had all the milk I needed as a baby... Problem solved.
One of my friends, who is a few years older than me, told me of her experience with her husband who had recently been prescribed either viagra or cialis for his ED.
She told me she never wanted to see his manhood again.
I figure there’s got to be a better way should that ever happen to us.
So perhaps no drugs are needed if you have regular frequent sex to get that ole ticker pumping? I hate taking drugs if we don’t have to. Too many side effects and cross effects.
As a foolish twenty-something I was on a boat excursion on the Great Barrier Reef. For extra $20 they would rent scuba gear and give you a lesson. “Put the breathing thing in your mouth”.
The guy I was with thought it was too risky. What a wimp. Thankfully my stupidity didn’t kill me. A large shark swam below me (much larger than me), and there was one of those huge clams on the bottom far below me like from a Popeye cartoon. It was really amazing.
And then snorkeling on a shallow reef which was amazing. About the only thing I’ve ever done that was better than what you would expect from watching those nature shows.
The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc. look a lot better on those shows than in real life.
Grape-Nuts. Contains neither grapes, nor nuts.
Eh, my mom recently diagnosed with dementia (admittedly at 84).
Scared me to death. I’m all about prevention and the best data seems to be extremely favorable. Makes intuitive sense to me, too.
Too bad Uncle Junior (and Uncle Joe) didn’t know this Bada-Bing guy.
Never heard it called a 'brain' before.
Keep ya’ dirty meats off my Hogfish!
Back when I was a kid, there was a can of sardines that was forgotten, never opened, and it sat on a shelf for years.
One day it exploded, there was black “stuff” spattered everywhere.
I shudder to think what was in that can!
😊
I PUT A PORK SHOULDER ROAST INTO MY CROCKPOT AT ABOUT 7 AM...ON LOW. COOK IT UNTIL ABOUT 4:30-5 PM.
LOW & SLOW... TENDER AS CAN BE...LEFTOVERS MAKE GREAT SANDWICHES
I get it. My mom had vascular dementia. Diagnosed at 85, lasted 2 more years. I don’t envy you. It gets hard. How are you handling it? Is she nearby?
I wasn’t close in proximity to my family, but close in heart. I’m lucky I have two sisters who were physically closer than I was. I called Mom every day after my one sister would go home from work (family business is next door to the family homestead, so there was always someone nearby during the day). Mom and I would watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune “together” after she had eaten dinner. Then it was time for meds and bedtime. That was before she was diagnosed.
After she was diagnosed I flew down and was her caregiver for a week once a month. It was all we could afford financially, and I’m so glad my husband understood. It’s his turn now with his Mom, who is 97 and far away. He has four sisters. He goes as often as he can, for roughly a week, about every other month right now. He’s the only one still working. They’re all retired so have more flexibility with their schedules.
Any questions, let me know. I’ll try to answer as best as I can. Even if you just need to vent. Sometimes, that’s all any one needs. Just to be heard.
Good luck and God bless.
I've lived to a healthy 75 years of age by a steady diet of softball, beer, martinis and cigarettes.
Can’t believe expired gas station sushi didn’t make the list.
As a lad bailing and pitching hay for my uncle, we'd dip it right out of the cooler vat. That stuff was headache inducing cold too but never got sick from it.
Bkmk
I was dared to eat one once. I did it. Dipped it in lots of cream gravy. But still…🤢
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