Trans fats not good for your brain

A new study shows that, foods high in trans-fats would not just increase your waistline, it will also affect your brain negatively. The study reveals that individuals at their working age are more vulnerable to memory deficiency if they eat foods with too much trans fats. Trans fats can be found on your favorite junk foods and even baked products.

Studies on trans fats normally linked it to obesity and cardiovascular disease. A study even linked it to aggressive behavior. The current study about trans fats and memory is a new one yet the evidence that the researchers presented during the American Heart Association (AHA) 2014 Scientific Sessions seems credible.

According to study lead author Alexis K. Bui, every gram of dietary trans fatty acids consumed in a day was linked with 0.76 fewer words recalled. This means that those who consume high trans fats food can just recall 11 fewer words than what they used to or compared to those who does not consume much trans fats food.

The researchers analyzed the cross-sectional relation between trans fats intake and word memory. The research included 1018 participants. 694 of the participants were men. The age of the participants were 20 and above and the women included in the study were post-menopausal women with no history of coronary or artery disease.

The researchers adjusted factors that might impact the result of the analysis such as BMI and blood pressure. Based on the result of the study, the researchers believed that trans fats contribute to oxidative stress which leads to cell damages.

Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego and the one of the authors of the study said that the result of their research links trans fats consumption to worse memory performance in young adults.