Recent Study Confirms Trans Fat Increases Risk of Alzheimer’s, Dementia

A higher level of trans fat has been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, according to a recent study published in the journal Neurology.

The study, which ran for more than 10 years, had tracked the trans fat level on the blood of at least 1,600 Japanese men and women. After adjusting for other factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking, researchers found that people with the highest level of trans fat have 52 to 74 percent chances to develop dementia.

Dr. Richard Isaacson, who is not involved in the study and is the director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, said that the validity of the study was better since it used blood marker level, instead of the traditionally used surveys and questionnaires.

What is Trans Fat?

According to Mayo Clinic, trans fat is considered as the "worst fat" because it increases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol while it lowers your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol.

Although it could appear on unprocessed meat or dairy products, trans fat is formed by hydrogenating vegetable oils. The food industry loves using it because it increases the shelf life of the food and it gives additional taste and texture.

In Japan, sweet pastries are the primary suspect for increased consumption of trans fat, but it can also be found on fried fast food meals, chips, frozen doughs, coffee creamer, and margarine.

Trans fat, which is sometimes called trans fatty acid, has no known health benefits. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration already declassified as "generally recognized as safe."

LDL also clogs up arteries. Clogged arteries usually result in heart attack and stroke, which the World Health Organization declared as the leading cause of death globally. On the other hand, HDL collects unused cholesterol and sends it back to the liver. The scarcity of HDL in the bloodstream will result in the same thing as high LDL.

Monounsaturated fats like olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil are highly suggested as a substitute for trans fat because it lowers cholesterol in the body.

Trans fat regulations in the US

In the United States, trans fat has been banned since 2015, while food manufacturers were given up to January 1, 2020, to eradicate it completely from their food products.

Despite that, the FDA said that bad fats still exists on the grocery shelves. Although labeled as "zero trans fat," some of these are traced to contain less than one gram of trans fat. Even at a small dosage, it can still contribute to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and memory conditions.

Dr. Isaacson said that people need to pay more attention to the label, or just avoid it completely and go fully natural.