Shocking research: Junk food consumption may lead to memory loss
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) - Are you also among those people who prefer junk food for pre-weekend and post-weekend celebrations? If so, then this news is for you! If you consume these fatty foods regularly for even four days, then be cautious because by doing this you are not only harming your body but also your brain. Studies show that this increases the risk of cognitive dysfunction (negative impact on the ability to think and understand) and gradually memory starts weakening.
Research by the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the US shows that fatty junk food attacks the brain much before it makes you gain weight or becomes diabetic, meaning that regular consumption of these foods has a negative impact on the ability to think and understand. These results warn and tell us that we should attack the factors that cause obesity and weaken memory. The first name in this list is Western-style junk food.
The findings, published in the journal Neuron, showed that a specific group of brain cells in the hippocampus – called CCK interneurons – become overly active after eating a high-fat diet (HFD). The activation of CCK interneurons is due to the weakening of the brain's ability to absorb glucose. Juan Song, principal investigator and professor of pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine, said that this hyperactivity disrupts the way the hippocampus processes memory. This hyperactivity continues even after a few days of taking a high-fat diet (HFD). This discovery also revealed that a protein called PKM2 plays an important role in increasing this problem. In fact, this protein controls the use of energy by brain cells.
"We knew that diet and metabolism can affect brain health, but we didn't expect to find CCK interneurons (a specific and vulnerable group of brain cells) in the hippocampus," said Song, a member of the UNC Neuroscience Center. "What surprised us most was that these cells rapidly changed their activity after glucose deprivation, and this change was enough to cause memory impairment," Song added. The team conducted this test on mice. They were put on a high-fat diet, such as fatty junk food.
Within four days of eating a high-fat diet, the results showed that CCK interneurons in the brain's memory center became abnormally active. The research also showed that restoring glucose levels in the brain actually calmed the overactive neurons and corrected the mice's memory problems. The study suggests that dietary changes and certain medications may be helpful in preventing obesity-related neurodegeneration and maintaining brain health. Notably, the researchers found that intermittent fasting after a high-fat diet may also be helpful. It normalized CCK interneurons and improved memory.