Cutting 1 compound from processed foods could reduce brain fog, anxiety, and chronic pain, scientists say.

Kathleen Holton studies the link between diet and neurological changes, searching for strategies to use food in optimizing brain health. Jeff Watts/Jeff Watts A dietary change may help relieve complex symptoms like brain fog and chronic pain, studies suggest. Glutamate, a compound in processed foods, can overexcite nerve cells, causing damage in sensitive brains. In new research, Gulf War veterans reported that cutting out glutamate relieved pain, PTSD, and more. US Navy Chaplain Deb Mariya had been struggling with PTSD and fibromyalgia for decades, unable to find relief despite trying every treatment she could find, from medication to acupuncture. Then a new diet changed her life, she told Business Insider. Maryia said that she had developed escalating symptoms after deploying to Kuwait in 1991's Operation Desert Storm, amid black clouds of burning oil and debris-laden sandstorms.