“Trans” fats, which are produced by injecting hydrogen into vegetable oils and are responsible for “bad” or LDL cholesterol (and that we find in foods such as industrial pastries, pizzas, fast food …) produce a reduction in the functioning of memory , according to a study carried out by the School of Medicine of the University of California in San Diego (USA) and collected in the journal Plos One.
The researchers examined data from 1,018 men and women who completed a dietary survey and a memory test . The results revealed that, on average, men under 45 years of age remembered 86 words on the memory test, but for every additional gram of trans fat they consumed each day, their mean number of words remembered dropped 0.76 fewer terms , without influencing ethnicity, sex, mood, amount of exercise performed or education of the participant.
“Trans fats were most strongly linked to poorer memory in men during their high-productivity years. Consumption of trans fats has previously shown adverse associations with behavior and mood, other pillars of brain function. However, to our knowledge, a relationship with memory or cognition had not been demonstrated ”, clarifies Beatrice Golomb A., leader of the study.
However, the United States Food Agency (FDA) has announced that these artificial fats are a threat to public health and has decided to phase out their use within three years. In the United States alone, reducing the consumption of these fats could prevent between 10,000 and 20,000 heart attacks and 3,000 to 7,000 deaths from coronary heart disease a year in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control in this country.
“As I tell patients, while trans fats increase the shelf life of foods, they shorten the shelf life of people, ” Golomb concludes.
