If you have trouble remembering where you put your things, it may be time for you to eat fewer doughnuts. According to a recent study performed by a professor of medicine at the University of California, trans fat can harm your memory.
Trans fat is already dangerous to your health as it can clog your arteries. It also raises bad cholesterol or LDL as it constantly reduces good cholesterol in the body. Now that more and more studies emerge just how harmful this type of fat can be to your brain, you may want to avoid foods that are high in trans fat as memory problems can happen even when you are still young.
In fact, the study concentrated on young and middle-aged males who eat large amounts of trans fat. Their memory was tested by asking them to remember words and those who had the highest amounts of trans fat did a worse job of up to 10% than those who had lower trans fat in their body.
Not all trans fats are bad. They can be consumed in moderation and can even provide a few benefits. You can find this dietary fat in meat products and milk. However, snack manufacturers have been creating artificial trans fats, including hydrogenated oils which you can find in junk foods to help add to their shelf life.
Prevention
It is accepted that doughnuts, muffins, and the like are a part of people’s diet. However, the American Heart Association encourages everyone to watch their consumption of junk food. The experts agree that people should eat no more than two grams of trans fat per day. This amount is equivalent to what you would normally find in meats and dairy. This is still considered healthy, but the problem arises when people start to consume more processed foods that what they are supposed to.
For years, saturated fat was considered the culprit behind heart diseases. However, due to more research conducted, it was discovered that trans fat is actually the one to blame for increased heart attack rates. Adding this fact to memory impairment, you definitely have more reasons to cut back on trans fat consumption.
While trans fat that is processed and added to your favorite junk foods can prolong shelf life of manufactured goods, this can reduce a person’s life. It contributes to oxidative stress where cellular damage becomes the result and leads to an increased risk of memory failure.