Fast food permanently impaired the ability to memorise
A large amount of fatty and sweet foods, such as baked goods and fast food, can lead to memory problems in adolescence, scientists from the United States have found. In this case, the transition to a healthy diet will not remedy the situation.
The influence of "rubbish" food on the human body is devoted to many modern scientific works. One of them proved that fast food has a negative impact not only on physical health, but also on the state of human psyche. Such food increased the risk of depression, anxiety and other common mental illnesses. In addition, researchers from France found out that sweets and pastries for breakfast due to the large amount of refined carbohydrates make people less attractive in the eyes of the opposite sex. This pattern was performed regardless of weight.
Experts from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (USA) found that large amounts of fatty and sweet foods in the diet permanently impairs the ability to remember information. Rats fed junk food at a young age developed memory problems that never disappeared as they grew older. The corresponding scientific article was published in the journal Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity.
The authors of the study proceeded from the fact that in the brain of people with Alzheimer's disease reduced levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is necessary for memory, learning, attention, excitement and involuntary muscle movements. Scientists monitored how diet affected acetylcholine levels in rats fed fatty and sweet foods compared to a control group of animals, and then performed several memory tests.
The rats were asked to explore new objects in different locations. After a few days, the animals were given the same environment as the first time, but one new object was added. The rats that had eaten the junk food could not remember what and where they had already seen, while the animals in the control group recognised the familiar objects:
"Acetylcholine signals help rats encode and remember events, as humans do with 'episodic memory'." Apparently, such signals do not occur in animals that have been raised on fatty and sugary foods."
Experts warned that such eating behaviour during adolescence could lead people to consequences that would be difficult to correct. This period of life is very important for the development of the brain, significant processes are taking place in the body. And if memory mechanisms due to unhealthy eating behaviour are disturbed in childhood, then it will be much harder to reverse the changes than if they had occurred in adulthood.
According to researchers, the effect of "rubbish" food will persist even if you switch to a balanced diet at some point. Without medical intervention, memory function will not recover. At another stage of the study, the authors of the paper found that medications that release acetylcholine can help, but they say this is a topic worth exploring further.