Eating sweets and foods with trans fats has never been good for your health, but new science shows it might also be clogging-up your memory too.
According to new research presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, presenters, such as study author Dr. Beatrice Golomb, explained how men with the most trans fats in their diet had the greatest reduction in memory capacity, especially when recalling certain words.
In fact men, young and middle-aged who ate these high levels of trans fats exhibited a 10 percent reduction in the amount of words they could recall.
Trans fats, a type of dietary fat made from partially hydrogenated oils, has been proven to cause widespread inflammation and acts as fuel for many modern diseases.
These fats are found in all sorts of commercial food products, such as baked sweets, fast foods, various snacks, and even coffee creamers.
The 1,000 person test group, men who had not been diagnosed with heart disease, participated in the groundbreaking study.
Each participant was given a questionnaire, a test that inquired about how much trans fats they generally consumed on a daily basis.
To accurately test their subjects, the researchers used a recurrent word exam, a test that gave participants a series of cards with a single word on it.
After reviewing each card, researchers asked each quiz taker if the word was old or new. After collecting all the data, the study showed that men, those who ate more trans fats than the others, showed a remarkable decline in cognitive performance.
Every additional gram of trans fat was associated with .76 fewer words answered correctly. If you were one of the more aggressive trans fats consumers, that reflected in 11 to 12 incorrectly recalled words, a noticeable slump.
In theory, researchers believe oxidation, a chemical process involving the transfer of electrons, creates a hostile environment for brain cells. If cells don’t get the energy they require to perform various tasks, as a direct cause-and-effect response, they die-off.
Some food for thought; it’s important to be mindful of the types of fats you choose to eat and about the trans fat health risks, especially when those foods may contain trans fats.
