Eating a junk food-heavy diet for just a few days may be hurting your memory, researchers have warned.
More than a third of Americans consume cheeseburgers, fries, and other junk food on any given day. But regularly eating these foods, which are rich in cholesterol-raising saturated fats, can disrupt the hippocampus, the section of the brain that processes memory and learning.
This is because junk food forces brain cells within the hippocampus to become overly active, researchers at UNC School of Medicine explained, citing their recent study in mice. Hyperactive brain cells have previously been linked to dementia.
The reason the cells become overactive is that the brain’s ability to receive sugar called “glucose” – the main form of energy for our body’s cells – has been impaired. And the researchers found that a protein that controls how brain cells use energy, called “PKM2,” is also a part of the problem.
“What surprised us most was how quickly these cells changed their activity in response to reduced glucose availability, and how this shift alone was enough to impair memory,” Dr. Juan Song, a professor of pharmacology at the school, said in a statement.
How much is too much junk food remains unclear, as does what junk foods might be better than others.
What these findings might mean for Americans is a lingering question, but they add to a lengthening list of reasons to avoid foods that have undergone extensive processing.
Not all junk food is processed, but ultraprocessed foods account for more than half of the calories U.S. adults eat at home.
Most are high in saturated fat, added sugars, and salt that can lead to negative medical outcomes, such as premature death, heart disease and stroke, gallbladder disease, lung cancer, and reproductive issues.
Not all ultraprocessed foods are unhealthy, but they have been found to accelerate cognitive decline by 12 percent, and eating the foods may speed up early signs of Parkinson’s disease.
Song and her team also found that a high-saturated fat diet could lead to an elevated risk of developing cognitive disease. But they found a method that could help calm the overactive brain cells and fix memory problems, as well. At least, in an unlisted number of mice.
Within four days of eating the diet, the rodents’ brain cells became overly active, but intermittent fasting and other diet shifts were found to normalize their brain cells.
The researchers hope additional work can help them understand how the overactive brain cells could disrupt brain waves, whether treatment could also benefit humans, and how a high-fat diet could be a factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
“In the long run, such strategies could help reduce the growing burden of dementia and Alzheimer’s linked to metabolic disorders, offering more holistic care that addresses both body and brain,” Song added.
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