Our brain is the body’s control center that keeps the heart beating, and the lungs breathing and helps us walk, move, think, and feel.

But with age, there are changes in the brain of every individual, and mental functions also change.

With aging, the brain begins to degenerate and this can result in diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia in old age.

But our dietary habits can also speed up the journey of brain degeneration, especially fast or junk food which proves to be destructive for the brain.

This was revealed in a medical study in America.

A University of Southern California study on rats found that consuming a diet high in fat and sugar can affect the ability of young brains to organize memory over the long term.

An earlier study by the same research team discovered a link between poor diet and Alzheimer’s disease.

Now a new study has discovered that consuming junk food is harmful to the brain of young people.

In this research, experiments were conducted on rats and it was observed what effects different foods have on their memory.

Eating a diet high in fat and sugar changes the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in their brains.

This neurotransmitter is important for brain functions such as learning, concentration, and memory, and levels of this neurotransmitter are reduced in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The research discovered that the level of this neurotransmitter was affected in the brains of rats consuming junk food and these animals performed poorly in various memory tests.

In fact, those rats started to forget the objects they had seen before.

The researchers said that this neurotransmitter is very important for brain function and plays an important role in human memory.

He said that the consumption of fast food among the youth has increased a lot and this age period is very sensitive for the brain during which very important changes are taking place.

He further stated that the consumption of junk food has negative effects on memory and is very difficult to reverse.

He said that in comparison, consuming healthy foods benefits the brain.

The results of the study were published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Earlier, a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology in December 2022 reported that consumption of ultra-processed foods increases the risk of dementia.

Ultra-processed foods include bread, fast foods, sweets, coffees, cakes, snacks, breakfast cereals, chicken and fish nuggets, instant noodles, sugary drinks, and sodas.

Research has shown that if more than 20 percent of daily calories are obtained from ultra-processed foods, the risk of dementia also increases.

Similarly, in early July 2022, a study by the University of South Australia reported that consuming high-fat or fatty foods not only increases body weight, but such foods are also detrimental to mental health.

 

The study found a clear link between high-fat diets, diabetes and dementia.

The results showed that mice fed a high-fat diet gained more body weight, increased insulin resistance, and shrank brain volume.