Eating junk food often could increase risk of cognitive disease

• Eating a junk food-heavy diet for just a few days may impair memory, according to researchers at UNC School of Medicine.
• Foods rich in cholesterol-raising saturated fats disrupt the hippocampus by causing brain cells to become overactive and impairing glucose reception.
• A protein called PKM2, which controls how brain cells use energy, was also identified as contributing to the problem.
• The study, conducted on mice, showed that brain cells became overactive within four days of consuming a high-saturated fat diet.
• Intermittent fasting and other dietary changes were found to normalize brain cell activity and fix memory problems in the mice, offering potential avenues for future human treatment.

IN FULL

Your junk food craving might be hurting your memory