When we try to be healthy, it is easy to adhere to well-being trends that promise quick gains and simple solutions. However, some of these habits may not be that good.
According to, in addition to general health concerns, certain well-being trends may pose an especially worrying risk to cerebral function.
They exist Four trends That should be explored, such as sugary healthy foods, unregulated supplements, obsession with the metric system and burning incense or fragrant candles – and science which shows each one can harm brain health.
“Healthy” foods loaded with sugar
Many best selling products marketed as – such as drinks, cereal bars, flavor yogurts, cereals and others snacks – They are large sources of added sugar. Excessive consumption of sugar has been associated with a accelerated cognitive decline and to dementia risk.
One of the Biobank of over 200,000 people revealed that higher sugar consumption in the diet was associated with a higher incidence of dementia.
Over time, sugar -rich diets can promote inflammationo stress oxidative and insulin resistance In the body and brain, determining factors of decreased synaptic plasticity and memory formation.
Almost all guidelines agree that we should limit the added sugar, regardless of the source. The main lesson to withdraw is to read the list of ingredients when buying a products and avoiding foods and beverages with high levels of added sugar.
UNCREATED SUPPLEMENTS
The supplements sector is mostly self-regulated. Many supplements risk containing molecules that harm the brain. When people take supplements, the reach of a potential problem becomes deep.
In a study of 121 Canadian dietary supplements, it was found that almost 2% contained high levels of heavy brain heavy metals, such as the lead and the aluminumand in an analysis of about 7,000 women in the US, it was found that those who took plant-based supplements had lead levels 10% high than those who did not take.
Beyond BRAINE EXECUTE RISKS arising from contamination with heavy metals, researchers have also drawn attention to the possibility of brain health supplements to contain adulterated pharmaceutical products.
Drugs were discovered, including antidepressants, stimulants, anxiolytics and anti-inflammatory drugs, throughout the supplements, but especially in products for products sexual improvement e weight loss. These same types of adulterants are suggested as a risk in the space of brain health supplements.
Excessive concern with stress
Aspects of well-being culture can provide significant benefits at a time when Lack of health is the standard. However, at the extreme, excessive emphasis on unsustainable, unreachable and otherwise impractical advice can lead to a stress Significant and unhealthy habits, compromising overall health and especially brain health.
With the rise of the culture of influencersunrealistic comparisons with altered images with Photoshop, hyperbolic lifestyles and sensational health advice are everywhere.
A orthorexia nervosa It is a more recent description for a pathological obsession with eating healthy foods. An unhealthy effort to eat perfectly can promote the stress emotionalas well as malnutrition and other negative health implications.
Ascending comparisons on social networks are associated with a poor mental health. With the contents of the celebrities of well-being to often exalt unrealistic and perfect health, there are potential risks to the psychological state of people who are involved with their content influencers.
Recent studies have concluded that this can bearticular worrying for women.
Incense and scented candles
Burning of incense sticks and scented candles may seem to create a relaxing environment, but Free one cocktail of toxins no ar.
Incense combustion in closed environments generates thin particles (PM₂.₅), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), benzene and carbon monoxide.
Research in older adults in a community environment found that regular incense exposure was associated with impaired cognitive function e to Changed brain connectivity in FMRI.
Similarly, a Taiwanese investigation showed that the individuals exposed to incense smoke obtained a lower score in the test Mini-Mental State Examinationan independent risk factor for cognitive decline.
Fragrant candles also emit volatile organic compounds (COVs) and PM₂.₅. Even short -term exposure to an inner candle has shown reduce performance in cognition testsa result that was verified in a 2025 publication.
As Scented candles can be particularly worrying because they free pieces beyond particles.
Some of the reasonable tools for mitigate the potential risks of incense and interior candles They include reducing total combustion time and improving home ventilation (opening windows and using a high quality air purifier).
If you choose to use inferior candles, smelling bee wax can be a better bet than fragrant candles, paraffin candles or soy candles. Keeping the pawwaves of the candles can also help reduce air pollution.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
