Memory loss link to fats and cholesterol in diet

Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have linked memory loss to a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol, in a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

In comparing the United States of America (USA) to other countries such as India, the rate of Alzheimer’s Disease is clearly high in comparison.

One study came in with results showing a rate in India that was just one quarter of the US rate of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Though no one as yet can be sure of the reason for this, this new MUSC study strongly indicates that our diet is part of our problem.

The US food supply is high in cholesterol and saturated fat, reflected in the high obesity rates in the US.

Collaboration between two laboratories at MUSC and one at Arizona State University led researchers to discover that rodents that were fed a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat displayed impairment in working memory.

This memory loss is associated with inflammation in the brain, as well as the impairment of structural proteins that affect how a nerve cell functions.

As inflammation is associated with a poor diet, the failure of functions in other key organs such as the eye and the ear also could be expected.

Assuming that the same phenomenon occurs in human beings, the study suggests that as humans age, memory may be preserved and brain functions improved, by restricting the consumption of cholesterol and saturated fats.

As cases of obesity and obesity-related diseases have increased exponentially in the United States, and are second only to tobacco use for premature mortality and the number of health-care dollars spent, the importance of this issue is immediate.