How food affects your brain

Level: C2
Topic: Food & Health – How Food Affects Your Brain
Source: TED-Ed – “How the food you eat affects your brain” by Mia Nacamulli
Skills: Listening comprehension, scientific vocabulary, paraphrasing, inference

In this C2 Listening Worksheet, students explore how nutrition influences brain function, mood, and behavior. The lesson uses an authentic TED-Ed video to challenge learners with fast, natural speech and complex scientific language.

Students identify key ideas and details from the talk, such as the role of proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose in brain performance and mood regulation.

The activity enhances critical listening and content interpretation, encouraging students to differentiate facts from misconceptions about nutrition and brain health.

This lesson is ideal for developing academic listening skills, expanding topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., micronutrients, free radicals, degenerative conditions), and stimulating discussion on food and cognition — perfect for advanced learners preparing for C2 EOI, Cambridge C2 or IELTS Band 8–9 levels.