Could Eating Trans Fats Worsen Your Memory?

Could eating more trans fats worsen your memory? A new study insuggests that could be the case for men ages 45 and younger.

“Higher trans fat consumption is linked to worse memory in key career-building years,” says lead study author Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, Calif.

Golomb and her colleagues analyzed cross-sectional data from 1,018 participants in the 1999-2005 UCSD Statin Study. For the study, these men and women were asked to complete a dietary survey and memory test involving word recall.
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On average, men ages 45 and younger recalled 86 words, but their performance dropped by 0.76 words for each additional gram of trans fats consumed daily. This translates to an expected 12 fewer words recalled by young men who had the highest intake levels of trans fatty acids, compared to similar men who didn’t consume any trans fats.

“Basically, the higher the consumption, the lower the memory—an effect that remained significant with adjustment for other potential memory predictors,” Golomb says.

While the study focused predominantly on men because of the small number of women in this age group, the findings didn’t change when the researchers included women in their analysis.

The team did not, however, observe this same association between dietary trans fatty acids and word memory in older populations, but Golomb says that’s likely due to dietary effects on memory showing more clearly in younger adults.

She points to several properties of trans fats that may account for its association with worsened memory function:

• They promote oxidative stress, which is linked to worse memory.

• They promote inflammation, which is also associated with worse memory.

• They obstruct the body’s production of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (the kind the brain needs) from short-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, important for brain health, and linked to better memory.

“Findings comport with recent FDA moves to rescind the designation as ‘generally recognized as safe’ for dTFAs; and add support to similar efforts in other nations,” the authors say.

Just last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made a determination that will significantly reduce a major source of artificial trans fats in America’s food supply. The FDA finalized its determination that partially hydrogenated oils are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in human food, and gave food manufacturers 3 years to remove them from products.

Golomb believes the decision could have widespread health benefits for Americans, given that significant data suggest adverse associations of trans fats to heart health, brain health, and metabolic health.

“The finding related to memory is the most recent of our findings linking trans fats to worse brain-related outcomes,” she says. “We previously reported that higher trans fat consumption related to lower mood and also to higher aggression, suggesting an unfavorable connection to two other pillars of brain function: regulation of mood and behavior.”

She and her team plan to continue research related to trans fats as well as studying diet and memory. “We have another important trans fat finding we hope to publish; and also, evidence of the relation of two other nutrients to cognition—this time favorable,” she says.

—Colleen Mullarkey

Reference

Golomb BA, Bui AK. A fat to forget: trans fat consumption and memory. PLOS One. 17 June 2015. [Epub ahead of print]. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128129.