Across the world, Elon Musk is now a household name. A powerful innovator who believes in science and technology. But at home, his mom makes the rules. Maye Musk, the 76-year-old former model and dietician, still looks ageless and fit. Her secret? According to news reports, she believes in clean eating and being mindful about what she puts in her mouth.

In a recent appearance on Fox Business’ The Bottom Line, Maye openly expressed her belief that changing diets could help people suffering from obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes – all of which she said were interlinked. Notably, she has been running her private practice as a dietician for the last 40 years. "The main issues were obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. Once they started changing their diets, their blood values looked better — and it just decreases the expense of treating these patients," she said when asked about President-elect Donald Trump’s focus on choosing healthier foods for the younger generation.

Maye also talked about increasing focus on educating communities to work together for better health outcomes. "We need to be able to teach people to eat better and to have communities doing it together because it’s hard when you have a community that loves to eat a lot of food and then you have to try to pull yourself back."

As a grandmother to 14 kids, Maye says she doesn’t make any compromises when it comes to healthy eating. "You’ll never see chips and cookies in my home! As my grandkids say, ‘I’ve got no food.’"

Emphasizing the dangerous side effects of processed foods – which include sugar, sodium, and saturated fats, Maye said she is extremely strict with what her grandchildren eat at her home. Maye said all junk foods are addictive and so, it is better to not start eating them at all. "If you start on them, you can’t stop. So, I’d rather not start with them." Instead of processed foods, Maye suggested healthier choices like:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Yogurt
• Milk
• Cereal
• Whole-wheat bread

What happens when you consume too many chips and cookies?

According to the American Heart Association, the average American consumes a whopping 20 teaspoons of added sugar daily. However, experts say on average you must not eat more than six teaspoons daily. Chops and cookies – loaded with preservatives, sugar, and salt, contribute to the development of serious, medical issues like:

• Tooth decay
• High triglycerides
• Low HDL cholesterol
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Cancer
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Obesity

Experts say addiction to junk food most likely stems from the effects consuming sugar has on your brain. The hormone ghrelin causes you to experience feelings of hunger, so when you eat processed foods, a significant amount of dopamine is released in your brain. Because dopamine boosts your mood, you can easily become addicted.

These foods – mostly calorie-dense also cause overeating due to their appealing taste and texture. Processing also removes essential nutrients from foods, leaving you with a diet lacking in vital vitamins and minerals. According to experts, processed foods disrupt gut bacteria balance due to their low fibre content and added ingredients.

The combination of sugar, salt, and flavour enhancers in processed foods can stimulate the brain's reward system, making them difficult to resist.

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