Although many of us like to indulge from time to time, it turns out that a high-fat diet can alter the brain after just a few days, even in healthy adults.
A study published in Immunity & Ageing reveals that eating a diet high in saturated fat for as short as three days can cause memory problems and brain inflammation in older adults. These results add to the already lengthy list of side effects of a fatty diet and suggest that it isn’t only overweight individuals who should be worried.
The Dangers of Saturated Fat
Researchers conducted their study using groups of rats. The rats were divided into these groups based on their age and were fed a high-fat diet for a period spanning three days to three months. Another group was fed a diet consisting of normal rat chow.
The goal of this research was to identify how quickly an unhealthy diet can cause changes in the brain compared to the rest of the body. While the three-day diet didn’t cause any issues with the rats’ metabolism or gut, it did show significant changes in the brain.
For the group of older rats, their brains suffered after only three days of eating saturated fats. Not only was there evidence of negative inflammatory changes in their brains, but they also performed poorly on memory tests.
Read More: What are Ultra Processed Foods?
Contextual and Cued Fear Memory
The study focused on two types of memory problems that are located in different parts of the brain and often present in those with dementia: contextual memory and cued-fear memory. Contextual memory is related to our long-term memory and allows us to remember the details of significant life events. Cued-fear memory allows us to associate certain sounds and images with a fear response so that we can respond accordingly.
Out of the three groups tested, older rats on the fatty food diet showed impaired functioning of both contextual and cued-fear memory.
There was also evidence of uncontrolled inflammatory response in the brains of older rats after three days, identified through a change in levels of proteins known as cytokines.
For those that remained on the high-fat diet for three months, the issues with memory and brain inflammation only continued. In addition, both young and old rats gained more weight and showed problems with blood sugar control, fatty tissue, and gut microbiomes.
Fat on the Brain
What does all of this mean for humans?
For starters, it indicates that older adults must be extra careful with their saturated fat consumption. Older brains have a more difficult time recovering from problems such as inflammation, which explains why the young don’t show as much damage after a short-term unhealthy diet.
Additionally, this study dismisses the idea that diets high in saturated fat, including many common fast food items, are only a problem for those suffering from obesity.
“Unhealthy diets and obesity are linked, but they are not inseparable,” says Ruth Barrientos, the senior study author and investigator at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research. “We’re really looking for the effects of the diet directly on the brain. And we showed that within three days, long before obesity sets in, tremendous neuroinflammatory shifts are occurring.”
This could significantly change the focus of research on the effects of saturated fat and processed foods, as often, this research only looks at the impact of unhealthy diets and lifestyles on those who are already overweight.
Read More: How Ultra-Processed Foods Can Affect Your Mental Health
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Immunity & Ageing. Obesity-associated memory impairment and neuroinflammation precede widespread peripheral perturbations in aged rats
The Ohio State University. The IBMR functions as an incubator to create and disseminate cutting-edge mind-body research that will enhance individual and community health.
As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover's social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.
