The consumption of trans fat can have adverse effects on the brain and may damage memory.
Trans fat is a form of unsaturated fat created artificially. This type of fat is mainly present in processed food and used to improve the shelf life, texture and flavor of a food item. Previous studies have highlighted that consumption of trans fat may elevate the risk of coronary heart diseases and a new study suggests that it can have negative impacts on the brain.
A latest study conducted by the researchers of the University of California, San Diego reveals that men who had excess trans fat were at a higher risk of memory loss.
"From a health standpoint, trans fat consumption has been linked to higher body weight, more aggression and heart disease. As I tell patients, while trans fats increase the shelf life of foods, they reduce the shelf life of people," says Beatrice A. Golomb, professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego and the lead author of the study.
Golomb explains that the study involved about 1,000 healthy men under the age of 45 years. Participants, who consumed food with high trans fat level, performed worst in a word memory test. The study found that the effects of trans fat on memory damage was even across the board after accounting for education, ethnicity, age and depression.
The study found that the average number of total words remembered by participants was 86. The researchers suggest that every additional gram of trans fat per day was linked to a likeliness of 0.76 less words correctly memorized. When translated to participants who consumed the highest amount of trans fat, it comes to around 11 fewer words, or over 10 percent reduction in words recalled, in comparison to those who consumed least trans fat.
Trans fat implication on health is getting a lot of attention in many countries. More than 70 companies in the UK including Asda, Pizza Hut, Unilever, Burger King and more have pledged to reduce or entirely remove trans fat from their food products.
In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made it compulsory for food manufacturers to confirm the about of trans fat in the Nutrition Facts panel of the packaging. Individual states are also promoting for the reduction of trans fat in food products.
The research was presented the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.
