People who follow a fatty, sugary diet are more likely to experience cognitive complications compared to those following diets low in fat and sugar, new research has shown.
A recent study from the University of Sydney has found that impaired brain function can be triggered by high-fat, high-sugar (HFHS) diets.
HFHS diets particularly impact the hippocampus – a small, seahorse-shaped brain structure located within the temporal lobe and part of the limbic system which plays a crucial role in memory formation, particularly in converting short-term memories into long-term ones.
It also contributes to spatial memory and navigation.
Lead author Dr Dominic Tran said: “The good news is we think this is an easily reversible situation.
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“Dietary changes can improve the health of the hippocampus, and therefore our ability to navigate our environment, such as when we’re exploring a new city or learning a new route home.”
During the trial, the team of researchers examined the cognitive abilitiy of 55 university students aged between 18 and 38.
All those involved in the study filled in surveys to outline how often they consume foods high in sugar and fat.
In addition, they underwent assessments to test their memory and had their BMI recorded. Participants had to navigate a virtual reality maze and locate a treasure chest six times.
Those who located the treasure in less than four minutes instantly carried onto the next trial, while the participants who failed to find the treasure in this time were teleported to its location and given 10 seconds to familiarise themselves with that location before the next trial.
The final trial saw the treasure chests removed and the participants had to mark the spots they once stood based purely on their memory.
According to the results, the participants following a diet low in fat and sugar were more accurate in detecting the where the treasure chests once stood compared to those on a HFHS diet.
Dr Tran said: “After controlling for working memory and BMI, measured separately to the experiment, participants’ sugar and fat intake was a reliable predictor of performance in that final, seventh, test.
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“The results highlight the importance of making good dietary choices to maintain healthy brain function.”
He added: “We’ve long known eating too much refined sugar and saturated fat brings the risk of obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.
“We also know these unhealthy eating habits hasten the onset of age-related cognitive decline in middle age and older adults.”
He concluded: “This research gives us evidence that diet is important for brain health in early adulthood, a period when cognitive function is usually intact.
“It’s likely our participants were a little healthier than the general population and we think, if our sample better represented the public, the impact of diet on spatial navigation would likely be even more pronounced.”
