We’ve long known that trans fats are bad for the heart, raising LDL cholesterol, lowering HDL cholesterol and increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease. New research shows that trans fats are also bad for the brain.
The Research:
Drs. Beatrice Golomb and Alexis Bui at the University of California San Diego interviewed more than 1,000 adults. The study volunteers filled out dietary questionnaires and took memory tests that required word recall.
The results showed that high levels of trans fats in the diet were linked to worse performance on the memory test in middle-aged men. For each additional gram of trans fat in their daily food, these men scored about three-fourths of a word lower, on average.
According to Dr. Golomb,
“Trans fats were most strongly linked to worse memory in men during their high productivity years.” She tells her patients, “While trans fats increase the shelf life of foods, they reduce the shelf life of people.”
The scientists titled their article “A Fat to Forget: Trans Fat Consumption and Memory.”
