Children's Health Defense
Story at a glance:
- A study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California found that consuming junk food during adolescence can lead to long-term memory impairment in adulthood.
- The neurotransmitter acetylcholine plays a role, as it is crucial to memory, as well as other brain functions like attention and learning.
- Consuming junk food can also increase your child’s risk of depression, obesity and inflammatory conditions like eczema, rhinitis and severe asthma.
- Adults should set an example for children and encourage them to shift to healthier food choices, but this can be difficult since junk food has been designed to be addictive.
Many parents are aware of the negative effects of alcohol and drugs on their children’s brains and take the necessary steps to protect them from these dangerous substances.
However, there’s another stealth element that could be putting them at high risk of future memory issues — and it’s likely in your kitchen pantry right now.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California found that consuming a junk food diet during adolescence can lead to long-term memory impairment in adulthood. Even more alarming is that the effects could be irreversible.
Animal study shows junk food can lead to poor memory
The featured animal study, published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, sought to determine the effects of feeding a junk food diet on adolescents’ brains. While conducting the study, the researchers considered previous findings that a poor diet can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
They found that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine plays a role, as it is crucial to memory, as well as other brain functions like attention and learning.
People who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease tend to have lower levels of this neurotransmitter in their brains.
The researchers then wondered if adolescents who consumed the same type of processed food diet — loaded with unhealthy fats and refined sugar — could also experience similar effects, especially as their brains are still going through significant development.
To test their hypothesis, they fed one group of rats a “junk food cafeteria-style diet” consisting of potato chips, chocolate-covered peanut butter cups and soda, and gave a control group a standard diet.
They then observed the animals’ acetylcholine levels and analyzed their brain responses by having them undergo tasks to test their memory.
One test involved allowing the subjects to explore new objects in different scenarios. After a few minutes, they repeated the test but added a new object to the scene…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE…. (childrenshealthdefense.org)
Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)
