Research process
More than 1,600 Japanese people, including men and women without dementia, have been receiving strict health monitoring for 10 years. They were tested for trans fats in their blood as soon as they began participating in the study and their diet was also continuously tested.
Researchers adjust other factors that may increase the risk of dementia such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. They later found that the two people with the highest levels of trans fats were 52% and 74%, respectively, more likely to develop dementia.
The study used the results of measuring blood trans fats instead of the traditional diet questionnaire. This helps increase the accuracy and scientific value of the results, CNN quoted a speech by neurologist Richard Isaacson. He also affirmed that this is a key study because their results have shown that trans fats can increase the risk of Alzheimer's dementia syndrome.
What is trans fats?
Trans fats are produced naturally, where the ideal form is in the intestines of some herbivores. Therefore, people also find small amounts of trans fats in dairy products as well as from animal meat.
However, trans fats are more present in industrial foods. The food industry loves the use of trans fats, because they are cheap to produce and they help food to be stored longer, attract the eyes, and be more attractive to consumers.
This toxic fat is often found in processed foods such as cookies, cakes, French fries, frozenlizas, fried chicken, fried meat, fast food and dozens of other processed foods.
According to Japanese research, cakes play a big role in increasing the content of trans fats. Second place is Butter, followed by candy, caramelized, beef horn cake, unsweetened ice cream, ice cream and rice cake.
How to reduce the risk
Although trans fats are extremely toxic and not good for the body, they do not have to be completely eliminated. We can reduce the amount of trans fats we take in in to a safe level.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that each person should not consume more than 3 grams per day of trans fats. Many countries in the world also have to clearly state the amount of trans fats on packaging and labels, such as in Canada, manufacturers are allowed to state "zero trans", "trans fat free" or "full trans fat" if the amount of trans fats is less than 0.2g.
We should limit eating processed foods, fast food, cakes and vegetable butter. You should pay attention to a reasonable and careful diet to protect your health. Because trans fats not only pose a risk of Alzheimer's dementia but also easily lead to stroke and heart attack.
