Another Reason to Ditch Sugar and Saturated Fat: They Make You Stupid
Part I of this two part series highlighted the dangers of sugar consumption on brain health and what you can do to stop it. Two recent studies have found that consumption of sugar-rich foods and saturated fats are associated with decreases in memory, slower learning and reduces brain functioning. In other words, eating sugar and fat makes you dumb. What’s worse is that these changes could lead to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Part 2 of this two part series will focus on fat and how you can improve your brain function with a few simple dietary changes.
Fat Matters
In a study, published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers found that consuming saturated and trans-fats (from partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils) are associated with declines in overall cognitive function and memory in women. However, they also found that consuming mono-unsaturated fats (like olive oil) are associated with better overall cognitive function and memory.
One researcher noted “when looking at changes in cognitive function, what we found is that the total amount of fat intake did not really matter, but the type of fat did.” This means that simply substituting a more healthy fat – say olive oil or fish oils – for a “bad” fat – like saturated or trans fats – could dramatically improve memory and prevent a decline in brain function over time. By substituting healthy fats for unhealthy ones, you won’t feel deprived and you’ll be doing your heart, mind and body a huge favor!
Simple steps to improve memory and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s
Based on these two studies, you can take several simple steps to improve and protect your brain function:
- Substantially reduce the amount of sugar in your diet and eliminate as many sources of high-fructose corn syrup, corn-syrup and corn sugar as possible.
- Reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet; this means cutting way back on red meats and dairy products and removing the skin from turkey and chicken before eating them.
- Eliminate trans-fats from your diet – this means eliminating fried foods, donuts, processed cakes and cookies as well as foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
- Increase the amount of healthy fats in your diet – this means using olive oil and coconut oil for cooking, eating more fish (not deep fried!) and taking a high-quality fish oil daily.