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Daniel Amen: “Artificial dyes and sweeteners and ultra processed food…”

Featuring: Daniel Amen, Founder and CEO of Amen Clinics | National

The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen

Published June 23, 2025 | Video Starts at 19:55

They don't act up in the same sort of a way, especially in school. And I think that I'm so excited the government just banned red dye number 40 because I think Artificial dyes and sweeteners and ultra processed food increase the expression of ADHD in our society. There's a study from Holland where they gave 300 kids put them on an elimination diet. So they basically eliminated gluten, dairy, corn, fodmap type thing, artificial dyes and sweeteners. (19:55–20:06)

CLAIM

Asserts that artificial dyes, sweeteners, and ultra-processed food increase ADHD expression.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Daniel Amen

“Psychiatry...is the only medical profession that virtually never looks at the organ it treats.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 00:57-1:42:40
“Psychiatry...outcomes are actually no better than they were in the 1950s.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 00:57-01:36
“Every area of the brain is lower in blood flow and activity [in marijuana users].”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 11:23-11:27
“There's a study from Holland where they gave 300 kids put them on an elimination diet... 70% didn't have ADHD anymore.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 20:05-20:23
“As your weight goes up, the size and function of your brain goes down.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 25:01-25:07
“Kids who have general anesthesia have a higher incidence of ADD and learning disabilities.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 29:22-29:28
“People who take saunas have a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 34:18-34:25
“The same antibodies to strep that attack your heart attack your brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 44:33-44:38
“If you get a sugar burst, it drops testosterone levels by 25%.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 46:04-46:10
“When you sleep seven and a half hours, it turns on 700 health promoting genes.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:00:16-1:00:21
“Diaphragmatic breathing is as effective as Xanax and there has no side effects.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:03:43-1:03:53
“Saffron... has been shown in 26 randomized controlled trials to be equally effective as antidepressants with fewer to virtually no side…”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:12:59-1:13:18
“Most psychiatric problems are not mental health issues. They're brain health issues.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 00:24-00:31
“Most psychiatric problems are functional problems.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 04:00-04:06
“SPECT basically tells us three things. Good activity, too little or too much.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 04:13-04:19
“If your brain is healthy, you're much more likely to be happy.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 06:45-06:50
“A brand new study out just last week... looked at 192 studies on 17,000 patients... saffron came out the best alone.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 06:57-1:14:19
“70% of mental health problems will go down if [we create a revolution in brain health].”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 08:29-08:37
“Teenagers who use marijuana in their 20s have an increased risk of anxiety, depression, suicide and psychosis.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 11:04-11:12
“I published a study on [EMDR] in police officers who were involved in shootings.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 11:15-55:54
“Significant areas of [young marijuana users'] brain involved with learning and memory were underactive.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 12:17-12:25
“Alcohol makes your brain look older than you are.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 13:28-13:32
“In 1991, when I looked at my brain for the first time, I'm a double board certified psychiatrist.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 16:42-16:49
“I've published a number of studies on ADHD.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 18:35-18:38
“Consistently, [ADHD patients] have lower prefrontal cortex function.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 18:38-18:43
“The government just banned red dye number 40.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 19:51-19:54
“Low blood flow is the number one brain imaging predictor of Alzheimer's disease.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 24:35-24:42
“Caffeine constricts blood flow to the brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 24:46-24:51
“High iron levels accelerate aging.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 25:48-25:53
“Periodontal disease is a major cause of inflammation.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 26:27-26:33
“49 of [50 consecutive patients who came to Amen Clinics] had suboptimal levels [of omega 3 fatty acids].”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 26:45-26:47
“93% of the population have suboptimal omega 3 fatty acids.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 26:51-26:57
“Head trauma [is a] major cause of psychiatric problems.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 27:54-27:59
“Adults who have general anesthesia have a higher incidence of dementia.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 29:30-29:35
“The worst [effect of general anesthesia] is a coronary artery bypass surgery.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 29:37-29:42
“There's a whole literature on general anesthesia and cognitive impairment.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 30:31-30:37
“Mold is bad for the brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 33:33-33:35
“People score four more [on the ACE questionnaire] have an increased risk of seven of the top 10 leading causes of death.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 35:18-35:25
“People who score seven or more [on the ACE scale] die 20 years earlier.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 35:24-35:31
“The chronic stress causes your emotional brain to become hyperactive where now you're always watching for something bad to happen.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 35:49-36:01
“The more ACE score you have, the higher your ACE score, the more likely you are to notice the negative.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 36:03-36:12
“Genes can affect generations. So if you have PTSD, if your grandparents had PTSD, you are more likely to develop it yourself because that…”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 39:20-39:37
“The drugs [teenage girls are using] is turning on or off certain genes to make illness more or less likely. Not in them, but in their babies…”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 40:12-40:26
“Aspartame... made the mice anxious, but it also made their babies anxious and their grandbabies, anxious.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 40:31-40:46
“Aspartame is now in 5,000 products.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 40:45-40:49
“Highest incidence [of severe psychiatric disorders] in the United States is the Northeast, the North, Midwest, and the west Coast.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 42:07-42:16
“If you overlay that map with the highest incidence of Lyme disease, they're identical.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 42:15-42:23
“An infectious disease is causing some mental illness? And the answer is absolutely yes.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 42:26-42:35
“Covid causes this inflammatory bomb that goes off in the brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 43:25-43:31
“Syphilis, for example, can pretty much make you crazy.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 43:31-43:35
“HIV can change the way you think.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 43:35-43:40
“Infectious disease is a major cause of psychiatric problems.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 43:52-43:58
“Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with strep infections.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 44:13-44:20
“They can create new onset OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder in the brain from an infection.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 44:38-44:49
“If your estrogen's not right and you're a woman, your brain's not right.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 45:34-45:39
“If your testosterone's too low, your brain's not right.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 45:44-45:49
“Diabesity is your blood sugar is high and or you're overweight, and both of them are just a disaster for brain function.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 46:25-46:38
“If you're overweight or have high blood sugar, you have virtually all of the risk factors because you have low blood flow.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 46:38-46:49
“Chronic cortisol exposure to stress hormones is just bad for them. They're more likely to get cancer.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 52:03-52:10
“In schools we should teach kids to love and care for their brains, and we should teach them how to manage their minds.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 53:07-53:17
“If you sleep less than six hours, it turns off 700 health promoting genes.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:00:21-1:00:27
“People who watch the news are 27% less happy in the afternoon if they start the day with the news.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:02:28-1:02:35
“Ashwagandha... helps boost testosterone levels and can sort of calm you down.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:05:44-1:18:45
“Benzos are associated with addiction and dementia.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:06:11-1:06:17
“Aspartame made the animals anxious, it made their babies anxious, it made their grandbabies anxious.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:07:40-1:07:47
“Our polarized culture now, which is, quite frankly, is great for psychiatric business, but it's a disaster for our society.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:08:12-1:08:24
“I had people suicidal after the last presidential election.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:08:23-1:08:28
“It's being done purposefully, right? You watch, whether it's Fox or CNN, it's breaking news, breaking news, breaking news.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:08:53-1:09:03
“I'm working with the White House on issues with mental health, and I wrote a drug and alcohol prevention program for them.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:09:22-1:09:36
“Anheuser Busch... spent $7.2 billion last year on sales and marketing.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:09:41-1:09:49
“Omega 3 fatty acids help mood, memory and pain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:12:45-1:12:53
“Saffron... seems to increase multiple neurotransmitters and decrease inflammatory markers.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:12:59-1:13:26
“When you added zinc to antidepressants, [it] dramatically improved their effectiveness.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:14:20-1:14:28
“When you added curcumins from turmeric to antidepressants, [it] dramatically increased its effectiveness.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:14:29-1:14:38
“Women have 52% less serotonin than men.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:15:11-1:15:16
“Women are at twice the risk of depression as men.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:15:28-1:15:32
“I published a study on 46,000 brains... women have much better frontal lobe function which is why they go to jail... 14 times less than men…”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:15:38-1:15:57
“Low levels of vitamin D are associated with virtually every bad thing.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:16:31-1:16:36
“Many people are magnesium deficient.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:19:01-1:19:05
“Women overall have healthier brains. They have healthier frontal lobes, but their emotional brains are busy.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:19:36-1:19:45
“People who are over 40 [vitamin D level] have half the risk of cancer of those who are under 20.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:20:54-1:21:01
“Men are diagnosed with ADD five times more than women.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:22:11-1:22:17
“Men had more activity in the back part of their cerebellum, which is involved with coordination and tracking.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:22:22-1:22:33
“The hippocampus in women is larger than in men.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:25:19-1:25:25
“The hippocampus is the major memory structure in the brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:25:24-1:25:29
“It's terrible for [children] to be in homes with chronic conditions.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:27:57-1:27:57
“She had an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate gyrus from hell.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:29:11-1:29:17
“He had really low frontal lobes.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:29:30-1:29:34
“Prozac calms down the cingulate gyrus.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:29:49-1:29:52
“If you think of domestic violence, think of somebody's had a head injury or there's a substance involved.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:30:42-1:30:51
“Oxytocin is actually involved in racism and dopamine.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:33:31-1:33:38
“Pornography changes the brain for [people].”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:34:30-1:34:37
“Jealousy, they tend to be hyper frontal, though their frontal lobes work too hard.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:35:59-1:36:07
“Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals. Mental Disorders. I'm like, they're not mental disorders, they're brain disorders.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:39:08-1:39:18
“Stop making diagnoses based on symptom clusters with no biological data.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:39:20-1:39:26
“Fame is potentially lethal for the brain.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:39:47-1:39:52
“Khloe Kardashian's follow up scan... was not good because she was in a bad car accident.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:40:33-1:40:44
“If you have addiction, be on an addiction prevention program.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:42:00-1:42:04
“Don't let your kids play tackle football or hit soccer balls with their head.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:42:11-1:42:16
“Stop the alcohol because it ruins your detoxification.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:42:33-1:42:38
“Know your vitamin D level.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:43:14-1:43:16
“Kill the sugar because you want your testosterone to be healthy.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:43:23-1:43:28
“I know how many calories I eat a day because I have obesity in my family.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:43:28-1:43:34
“It's easier to do if your brain works right.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:47:23-1:47:26
“With a better brain, it's easier to do that.”
The 11 Risk Factors That Are Destroying Your Brain - Dr Daniel Amen | Uploaded June 23, 2025 | 1:48:01-1:48:05