Reducing Ultra-Processed Food After Stroke | Brain Foods Series
7 Brain Foods — and One More Thing
Reducing Ultra-Processed Food After Stroke
Reducing ultra-processed food after stroke became just as important to me as adding brain foods.
Cocoa and coffee.
Walnuts.
Olive oil.
Berries.
Beans.
Greens.
Whole grains.
Simple foods that support the brain — day after day.
But there is one more thing.
Not a “brain food.”
Something else.
Reducing ultra-processed food — what I started to notice
This didn’t come from research.
It came from real life.
After I left the hospital, I started paying attention to how I felt after eating.
Sometimes my gut felt off — indigestion.
Sometimes my brain ached.
Other foods made me feel fine. Steady. Clear.
A simple example: soup
One day I had chicken noodle soup.
It tasted fine. But afterward — I had a headache.
So I looked closely.
There were some good things:
low calories, some protein, low fat, no sugar.
But then I noticed something else:
👉 890 mg of sodium in one serving
👉 additives and ingredients I didn’t recognize
That surprised me.
So I tried something simple instead:
I used no-sodium broth
and added a little salt myself. (I had been told about 1500 mg sodium per day — not all at once.)
Then I added pasta, vegetables, spices and sometimes a little chicken.
It was simple.
It tasted good.
And I felt better.
Another example: salad dressing
This one really surprised me.
The salad dressings we liked had:
- additives
- higher sodium
- ingredients I didn’t recognize
So I looked for a “better” version.
I found another grocery store salad with:
- no additives
- no added sugar
- lower sodium
- simple ingredients
That sounded great. But it cost $8 — about three times more.
That didn’t feel right either.
Then I looked at the ingredients and realized:
👉 I could just make it myself.
Olive oil.
Vinegar.
Dijon mustard.
Spices.
A little maple syrup.
Ginger.
Everything was already in my kitchen.
I mixed the ingredients and was done!
Cost matters too
Many people with stroke or aphasia are not working.
Some are on disability.
Many are watching every dollar.
There’s a common idea that “healthy food is more expensive.”
Sometimes that’s true. But sometimes:
👉 simple, real food is actually cheaper than packaged “healthy” food
What I mean by ultra-processed food
Today I’m not talking about science. I am just sharing what I noticed at home:
I avoid foods that I can’t recognize anymore. I avoid food with high salt, tons of sugar and additives.
Instead I make simple breads, keep fruits in the house, use more beans and use many green vegetables.
But it has nothing to do with perfection
I don’t eat perfect food, not even close.
This isn’t about strict rules.
It’s about watch what I eating the things that make me feel good.,
How it connects to my brain (and my gut)
When I eat simpler foods, I notice something right away.
I have more energy.
My brain feels calm — not heavy or slow.
My gut feels better.
It isn’t complicated.
Meals are simple.
Foods have fewer ingredients.
Salt is lower.
Dressings are made at home instead of bought in the store.
Small changes.
But they add up.
And over time, I’ve learned to trust that feeling.
We’ve talked about brain foods.
Cocoa and coffee.
Walnuts.
Olive oil.
Berries.
Beans.
Greens.
Whole grains.
Simple foods that support the brain — day after day.
And this is the other part.
Not adding something new.
Just stepping back from what doesn’t help.
Less ultra-processed food.
More simple, real meals.
Not perfect.
The foods in this series support the brain.
And “one more thing” supports them too.
Not by adding something —
but by reducing what gets in the way.