Brain health: Neurologist reveals 3 foods to avoid to prevent brain parasites or neurotoxins

The brain is one of the most important organs in the human body. It is the body's control center responsible for the smooth functioning of everything from heart rate to breathing and movement. In the current era of health-conscious consumption, we are aware of a variety of foods that can be eaten to improve brain health such as leafy greens, nuts, berries, coffee, tomatoes, and fatty fish. These foods are known to provide the brain with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healthy fats that are consumed for optimal functioning and cognitive health.

Now, it seems there are also some foods that you must steer clear of when aiming for top-notch brain health as they can cause some terrifying neurological damage and even death. In a TikTok going viral on the internet, neurologist Baibing Chen revealed three foods that he tries to avoid as they may cause neurotoxins and brain parasites.

What are these three foods? Let's find out.

Certain tropical reef fish
The doctor recommended avoiding large tropical reef fishes like barracuda, grouper and amberjack as they contain a neurotoxin called ciguatoxin. Originating in coral reef algae, the ciguatoxin builds up in predatory fish over time. He added personally seeing cases of ciguatoxin poisoning which is not only easy to misdiagnose but also leads to weird symptoms such as a cold feeling that turns burning hot, tingling, dizziness and recurring nightmares.

He added that the idea that cooking these fish would get rid of the toxin is not of any use as the toxin is heat-stable and "no matter how well you cook the fish, it won't destroy the toxin"

Undercooked pork


This is a well-known advice. Eating undercooked pork from unhygienic sources where you have no guarantee of hygiene and control measures puts the eater at the risk of all sorts of parasitic infections. The worst of them according to Chen is neurocysticercosis- a parasitic infection caused by eating tapeworm eggs that can lodge themselves in the brain.

“Little-known fact is that it’s actually one of the leading causes of acquired epilepsy worldwide,” he shared. He added that this can not be the case in just developing countries but also in developed countries in areas with poor sanitation.

Damaged tin cans
Many foods are sold in tin cans and the neurologist suggests that you must check out the shape of the can before buying the product. If a can is bulging, cracked or severely dented, it's a red flag for botulinum contamination, he warned.

"The bacterium produces botulinum toxin, which is one of the most potent neurotoxins we know." Even a tiny amount of the neurotoxin can block the brain's ability to signal the muscles to move. “The result is flaccid paralysis, blurred vision, respiratory failure and, without antitoxin, it can be deadly.”

He also added that the more dangerous part about the toxin is that it's odourless and tasteless and thus one wouldn't be able to figure it out by smelling or tasting. Additionally, heating the food might not be enough to completely neutralise it and thus throwing it away might be the safer option.