Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Can Eating a Donut Affect your Memory?


Have you ever eaten a donut or perhaps a bag of chips? What if someone told you that eating that donut or that bag of chips probably had an affect on your precious memory. Donuts and chips contain a high amount of trans fats, which are apparently causing problems with memory. According to the American Heart Association, a person should only have about 2 grams of trans fat, but the average American adult is eating 5.6 grams of trans fat a day. 

A study that was recently presented at the American Heart Association’s conference has found evidence that trans fat can actually affect a person’s memory. In this study 1000 healthy men were used. The men were shown 104 cards with words on them and were asked if any of the words were repeated or new. Blood tests were done and the men who had a higher concentration of trans fat in their blood did not remember as many words compared to the men who had less trans fat in their blood.

Will you stop eating donuts or chips because of this study? Probably not. Although there is strong correlation between these two factors, it is hard to prove causation in this experiment. Future studies might be able to prove causation between trans fat and memory. It is important to find the problems associated with trans fats so that people can avoid eating foods that contain large amounts of trans fats. Trans fats are already associated with other problems like heart disease and obesity. The more we learn about trans fats the better we can protect ourselves from avoidable medical problems.


Do trans fats have any permanent affect on memory? Is there a way to remove trans fats from the foods that Americans commonly eat? What other affects do trans fats potentially have on the human body? What types of foods can we eat so that we can avoid eating foods with trans fats?


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