A recent study revealed that trans fats inflict more harm to the human body than clog the arteries—they also damage the youth’s memory, too.
After consuming massive amounts of trans fats, young and middle-aged men are at risk of having a reduced memory capacity. This was proven by a memory test conducted by Dr. Beatrice Golomb where those who consumed the most amount of trans fats suffered a reduced ability to recall words.
Trans fats, according to experts, are a type of dietary fat that increases LDL, or the so-called “bad cholesterol.” To make it worse, it also decreases the level of the “good cholesterol” also known as the HDL.
The researchers from the University of California in San Diego conducted an experiment to 1,000 healthy men—those who were never diagnosed with any heart disease—and are aged 20 and above.
The experiment involved analysis of data from a dietary questionnaire filled out by the subjects to determine the amount of trans fats they consumed.
After gathering that data, researchers conduct a test known as “recurrent words,” where the subjects are shown 104 cards where different words are written.
They are then asked whether each word shown have already appeared in the first cards they were initially shown.
After this test, researchers discovered that those who consumed the highest quantities of trans fats suffer as much as 10 percent decline in their memory. Much more surprisingly, many of these poor performers of the “recurrent words” test are men with ages less than 45 years old.
With all of these into consideration, researchers have concluded that trans fats and its oxidizing effects might be what causes the death of the brain cells responsible for human memory.
They explained this conclusion through the analysis that revealed that trans fats have an energy-depleting effect on the brain cells, making them slower and less responsive as time passes.
To avoid such effects, experts advise that people reduce their consumption of unhealthy fats, if not remove it all in all from their daily diet in order to reverse its effects or at least lessen it.
