Fat is often unfairly demonized. Fats are essential for brain structure and function.
But when we talk about a brain-healthy diet, the type and amount of fats are crucial. In this article, you'll learn which fats are healthy and which are harmful for your brain.
Table of contents
1. The rat experiment
The observation that a high-fat diet reduces memory performance comes from a study conducted on rats by the Canadian Baycrest Centre for Aging Research in Toronto.
Gordon Winocur and his colleagues found that rats fed a high-fat diet performed significantly worse on learning and memory tasks than rats fed a normal diet. However, an injection of glucose was able to improve the memory performance of the high-fat rodents.
2. Saturated fatty acids should be avoided
The likely explanation for this phenomenon: The brain needs glucose as an energy source. Introducing large amounts of saturated fatty acids into the metabolism blocks glucose uptake in the brain . The fat primarily inhibits the hippocampus, a brain region where new memories are stored and retrieved when needed.
Winocur believes the study's results can also be extrapolated to humans. High-fat diets can be expected to result in reduced memory performance—at least as long as saturated fatty acids are present in the blood.
3. Unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are good for memory
The effects described above apply to saturated fatty acids , such as those found in animal products such as butter , lard , meat and sausage .
The situation is different for unsaturated fatty acids , especially omega-3 fatty acids , which are found in oily fish , vegetable oils , nuts , and even algal oil . There are several studies that demonstrate the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acids on the brain and memory.
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4. Fatty fish are rich in Omega-3
A study from the University of Pittsburgh showed that regular dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids significantly improved working memory in healthy young adults. The study participants, between 18 and 25 years old, regularly took omega-3 fatty acid supplements for six months.
Before and after this period, working memory was tested and brain imaging was performed. Indeed, a significant improvement in working memory was measured after the six months of omega-3 supplementation.
"Before seeing these data, I would have claimed it was impossible to improve the cognitive performance of young, healthy adults," says Bita Moghaddam, project leader and professor of neuroscience. "But we found that our subjects were able to further improve their working memory, even though they were already cognitively at their peak."
"It's really interesting that an omega-3-rich supplement can boost cognition in completely healthy young people," says one of the scientists involved. "Unfortunately, it's somewhat disappointing that, despite our imaging studies, we weren't able to determine the mechanisms underlying this effect."
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5. Conclusion
So, just as it does for the heart and circulation, the type of fat seems to be crucial for memory and the brain: saturated fatty acids are bad, while unsaturated fatty acids – especially omega-3 fatty acids – are healthy. However, since we normally consume significantly too much animal fat, it is certainly beneficial to supplement with omega-3 fatty acids.
