Western-style diet impairs brain function and increases desirability of sugary foods

A study involving 110 lean and healthy students (aged 20-23) found that those randomly assigned to a high energy western-style diet for a week performed worse on a memory test compared to those who ate their normal healthy diet. Moreover, those on the unhealthy diet then showed a greater tendency to eat more sugary foods.

The students at the beginning and end of the study were given breakfast in the lab. Before and after the meal, they completed word memory tests and scored a range of high-sugar breakfast foods according to how much they wanted and then liked the foods on eating them.

The more desirable people found the sugary food when full, following the western-style diet, the more impaired they were on the cognitive test. It’s suggested that both reflect impairment in hippocampal function.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/19/researchers-find-a-western-style-diet-can-impair-brain-function

Reference:

Stevenson, R. J., Francis, H. M., Attuquayefio, T., Gupta, D., Yeomans, M. R., Oaten, M. J., & Davidson, T. (n.d.). Hippocampal-dependent appetitive control is impaired by experimental exposure to a Western-style diet. Royal Society Open Science, 7(2), 191338. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191338

Lifestyle

Related News

Increased intake of fish can boost good cholesterol levels

A Finnish study has found that people who increased their intake of fatty fish to a minimum of 3–4 weekly meals had more large HDL cholesterol in their blood than people who were less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases.

Meat and cheese may be as bad for you as smoking

A large long-running study has found that eating a diet rich in animal

More fish needed for healthy heart?

Middle-aged Japanese men living in Japan had lower incidence of coronary artery calcification, a predictor of heart disease, than middle-aged white men living in the United States, after accounting for risk factors such as smoking, cholesterol, alcohol consumption, diabetes and high blood pressu

Calcium and vitamin D improve cholesterol in postmenopausal women

A new study from the Women's Health Initiative has found that calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause can improve women's cholesterol profiles, with much of that effect tied to raising vitamin D levels.

Higher levels of omega-3 in diet associated with better sleep

A study involving 362 children with reading problems has found that 16 weeks of daily 600 mg supplements of omega-3 DHA from algal sources improved their sleep. According to a sleep questionnaire filled out by parents, 40% of these children had significant sleep problems.

Large waist linked to poor health even when BMI healthy

Data from 11 different cohort studies, involving more than 600,000 people from around the world, has found that:

Link between fatty acids and heart disease complex

A meta-analysis of 72 studies with over 600,000 participants from 18 nations has concluded that total saturated fatty acid, whether measured in the diet or in the bloodstream as a biomarker, was not associated with coronary disease risk.

Supplements don’t reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly

Data from AREDS2, involving 4,203 older adults with age-related macular degeneration, has found that daily dietary supplements of either omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (also found in fish) or lutein and zeaxanthin (nutrients found in green leafy vegetables) were not associated with reduced

Mediterranean diet may lower risk of diabetes

A review of 19 studies involving over 162,000 people has found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 21% reduced risk of diabetes, with a greater effect (27%) for those at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Dietary guidelines for choline may be insufficient

A study involving healthy men and women fed a baseline diet containing 550 mg choline/day (the adequate intake level set by the Institute of Medicine) for 10 days, then put on a low choline diet (50 mg choline/day) for up to 42 days, has found that the "right" amount of choline depends on many f

Pages