Trans Fats May Affect Memory Health

News broke this week that the FDA is giving food manufacturers 3 years to rid all of their products of trans fats. Also called "partially hydrogenated oils," these are the key source of trans fatty acids in the American diet. Many studies have showed its effects on the heart, but other research is showing a high consumption of these trans fats actually may have a significant impact on our memory.

Major bodies of evidence point to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer from heavy consumption of trans fats. Doctors believe the removal of these trans fats in our diet will help reduce the risks of this preventable diseases. 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, trans fats are found naturally in animal fats but PHOs are found in baked goods. Food makers have used these for many years because they are inexpensive and extend the shelf life. The main problem is that these trans fats raise low-density lipoprotein or LDL, the bad cholesterol, which we've spoken a lot about. An increased LDL level is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, the number one cause of death in America. The center is projecting that eliminating these fats could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths per year. 

But beyond that, a new study is showing artificial trans fats in processed foods may interfere with memory healthy. Researchers are still unclear whether or not its trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fats that interfere with memory by directly affecting the nervous system. They're also looking into whether or not the correlation stems from the cardiovascular damage which harms the brain as well. 

Scientists analyzed large amounts of data from a bigger study on statin drugs. They focused their research on self-reported dietary patterns of more than 600 adult men without diabetes, cardiovascular disease or unhealthy cholesterol levels. They also looked at the results of a word recall test, where men were shown a series of 104 cards with 82 unique words and 22 repeat works. Men were asked to identify the words they'd seen earlier in the test. 

Most men correctly identified 85 of the words, however among those age 45, increased amounts of trans fatty acids was associated with decreasing word recall. For every additional trans fat gram per day, these men matched 0.76 fewer words. 

Most participants consumed up to 28 grams of trans fats per day and researchers deemed that translated to 21 fewer correct word responses out of the average normal score of 86. They found no association between trans fats and memory performance for men over the age of 45. This is an observational study and more research is needed; these results cannot for certain show that trans fats affect memory loss.