WE all love to indulge our food cravings from time to time.
But new research suggests that even the occasional ‘cheat meal’ can lead to long-lasting brain damage.
GettyEven eating a small amount of unhealthy food can increase your risk of brain damage, experts have found[/caption]
Scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia found that a diet of ‘clean’ eating interspersed with some junk food could not only lead to weight gain, but also affect brain function in rats.
Rodents who ate a mostly healthy diet – and only sometimes feasted on high-sugar and saturated-fat foods – showed significant cognitive impairment in tests of spatial memory.
Spatial memory allows you to remember where things are both on a short-term and long-term basis.
It is responsible for your ability to move freely about your home, remember the route to work and find your keys before leaving the house each morning.
“We think this sort of work is critical to get us to think about maintaining the health of our brain into old age,” explained neuroscientist and lead author Professor Margaret Morris from UNSW.
The new study, published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, adds to previous studies which found a link between poor diet and memory-loss providing new evidence on the dangerous affects of even a small amount of unhealthy food.
Researchers split the rats into four groups: a healthy control group of 12 which were fed standard rat food, compared to three groups of 12 rats which all ate a mix of healthy and processed food high in fat and sugar.
Before and after the diet experiment researchers tested the rats long and short term memories and weighed them.
Cognitive impairment was seen in all rats who ate unhealthily – with the rats who ate the most fatty and sugary foods performing the worst in memory tests.
Unsurprisingly, rats who rats who ate a high-fat, high-sugar diet for a long time gained more weight than the rats in the control group.
Other studies suggest good nutrition reduces disease risk and adds years to your life, so it’s probably worth swapping high fat and sugary treats for healthier options.
“If we can maintain a healthy diet – such as the Mediterranean-type diet with high diversity, fruits, vegetables, low saturated fats, good proteins – we have a better chance of preserving our cognition,” Prof Margaret added.
FOODS TO AVOID
Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat, salt and sugar, and need to reduce the amount they consume, according to the British Nutrition Foundation.
Here are some foods high in fat and sugar which they suggest you try and eat less often and in smaller amounts.
Chocolate Sweets Cakes Biscuits Puddings Pastries Jams Butter Crisps Ice cream Fried foods Sweet drinks Gravy Mayo
Use low-fat plain yogurt instead of cream when cooking, the body advised.
Try wholegrain breakfast cereals not coated in sugar or honey.
And instead of puddings, cakes, and pastries opt for fruit loaf, scones or fruit.