BRAIN HEALTH TIP : Replace Trans Fats with Brain-Healthy Choices

Switch from fats that cause brain inflammation to ones that protect your brain from damage.
Trans fats are harmful to every cell in your body, and especially to your brain. They do not
occur naturally, but rather are made in laboratories and manufacturing plants in which these oils
are heavily processed. This processing involves adding hydrogen atoms to a healthy fat to
saturate the fat molecule, thereby turning unsaturated oil into saturated oil. The result is a
hydrogenated fat, or trans fat—a type of fat that your body was never intended to ingest or
digest. These fats are industrial creations made to extend the shelf life of fats without regard for
the effect on human health. Even a few generations ago our ancestors were never exposed to
these brain toxins.
Here’s why exposure to these fats, found in many of the foods you eat, are a threat to your
brain: Trans fats are incorporated into cellular membranes, including brain and nerve cell
membranes, by standing in for healthy fats. The result is impaired brain cells. Brain cell
membranes need to be pliable to allow their fluid-like properties to function properly. Research
shows that molecules of linoleic acid (one type of fat) are more than three times wider than the
chemically altered trans fat form of linoleic acid. As a result, researchers speculate that the
blood–brain barrier will leak if it is made up of trans fats, which could allow greater quantities of
toxins to access your brain than if it were made of healthy fats.
Stanford-trained research scientist J. Robert Hatherill, PhD, made an important discovery
about trans fats: Ingesting them makes brain cell membranes excessively permeable. This poses a
serious problem, because it means viruses and toxins can gain greater access to your brain,
disrupt brain signals, and even cause brain cells to become dysfunctional. Over time, this serious
threat to brain health can result in cognitive decline. He also found that brain cell membranes
made up of trans fats may increase aluminum uptake into the brains of older individuals.
And if that’s not bad enough, what’s worse is that people who are deficient in omega-3 fatty
acids will absorb up to twice as many trans fats when they eat them, making their brains even
more vulnerable to these fats.
If you think you’re not eating trans fats or hydrogenated fats, here’s just a sampling of the
places they lurk: margarine, crackers, cookies, pies, vegetable shortening, snack foods, prepared
and packaged salad dressings, doughnuts, and French fries, as well as most restaurant foods. For
many years, margarine has been billed as a healthy alternative to butter, but many brands of
margarine contain trans fats or rancid fats that are best left behind. Margarine is cheap to make,
so many manufacturers have profited from the misleading marketing.
And if you think, “Well, I read the packages of the foods I eat and they always say ‘0 grams
trans fats,’ so this doesn’t apply to me,” you’re wrong. That’s because small amounts of trans
fats are allowable in most foods, provided the foods contain less than 1 gram per serving. But
when you add up these hidden trans fats, they still spell damage to your delicate brain cells.
How to Benefit
Switching from cookies, crackers, pies, French fries, and snack foods that contain trans fats to
ones made with healthier oils will go a long way toward improving your brain and mental health.
Better yet, reduce your consumption of these less-than-healthy foods. It’s easy to bake French
fries that have been made with olive oil rather than eat trans fat–laden ones out of a package or at
a fast-food restaurant. Try eating more homemade food without any margarine or other sources
of trans fats. I provide an excellent recipe for Brain-Boosting Butter (and it is certainly better
than margarine, too).
Super Health Bonus
Trans fats cause inflammation, which has been linked to many serious health conditions,
including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. If you make a conscious effort to avoid
trans fats, your whole body will thank you in the form of a reduced likelihood of these severe
conditions.