. . . AND THE ONES YOU NEED TO AVOID

Aim to reduce or remove the following from your diet . . .

1 PROCESSED FOODS: Crisps, biscuits, ready meals and white bread are high in salt, sugar and saturated fats that clog the brain’s arteries and directly damage brain tissue. Work to reduce foods with many ingredients, especially ones you can’t pronounce.

2 PROCESSED MEATS: Bacon, sausages, pepperoni, salami and chorizo are often filled with preservatives, salt and saturated fats that promote inflammation and damage blood vessels in the brain. These should be the first meats to try to cut out of your diet.

3 RED MEAT: Beef and game tend to be high in inflammatory saturated fats. They may cause less inflammation than processed meats, but they still result in considerable damage to your brain.

4 CHICKEN: The main source of cholesterol in the standard Western diet. Chicken contains three times more fat than protein. One study showed that people who eat ONLY chicken and fish still have twice the risk of developing dementia as vegetarians.

5 BUTTER AND MARGARINE: High in saturated and trans fats that clog arteries and shrink the brain.

6 FRIED FOOD AND FAST FOOD: High in trans fats that reduce brain volume contributing to cognitive decline. Also avoid tropical oils (such as coconut oil and palm oil) which are high in saturated fats and replace with extravirgin olive oil, safflower or sunflower oil.

7 CHEESE: High in saturated fat which damages blood vessels in the brain. You should also try to reduce your consumption of cow’s milk, creams, yoghurts, eggs (one egg carries more than your daily limit of cholesterol), butter and buttery spreads, mayonnaise (full fat or low fat) and any other dairy-based products. Replace these with nut/soya milk and nut cheeses or dairy- and egg- free mayonnaise instead.

8 PASTRIES AND SWEETS: These are high in sugar which causes inflammation and brain burnout. Get rid of sweets; sugary syrups; fruit juices; ice cream and desserts; any cereal with more than 6 g of sugar per serving; biscuits, cakes and cereal bars. You can sweeten things more healthily with fruit, dates, or xylitol and stevia — see our delicious dessert recipes coming up in Thursday’s paper for inspiration.

9 SUGARY DRINKS: The main source of sugar in the Western diet which causes inflammation and neuronal damage.

10 EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL: A neurotoxin that directly damages brain cells and not to be consumed in large quantities or on a regular basis. Stick to a maximum of two glasses of wine per week.