A fast food cooking method linked to brain damage to individuals and their offspring

United States – A new study found that eating potato chips and other fast food may cause long-term brain damage to the person and his or her children in the future.

Researchers from the University of Chicago studied the effect of food fried in large vats of old cooking oil, which is how food is often prepared in snack bars. They discovered that old oil, which is used to fry food and then reheated for use again, contains properties harmful to the brain, which seep into the food we eat.

Mice fed diets rich in repurposed oils showed more signs of inflammation in the liver, which is thought to accelerate cognitive decline, a precursor to dementia.

The researchers also discovered more signs of brain damage in mice fed reheated oil-rich meals compared to the control group.

The same brain damage appears to be transmitted to baby mice who ate dangerous diets.

The research team from the University of Chicago said: “Deep frying (a cooking method in which food is immersed in hot fat such as oil) at high temperatures has been linked to several metabolic disorders. “To our knowledge, we are the first to report that long-term fried oil supplementation increases neurodegeneration.”

Fast food chains usually reuse the oil over the course of a day, a few days, or even weeks.

Frying food is common in many kitchens around the world, and in some families as well.

In the study, mice were divided into five groups.

Each was given a standard chow to eat, or chow supplemented with unheated or reheated sesame or sunflower oil.

Reheated oils were used to simulate the effects of reused frying oil.

Mice that consumed reheated sesame or sunflower oil had higher oxidative stress and liver inflammation. Medical Daily reported that the animals also suffered severe colon damage.

The changes in the liver mean reduced transport of the omega-3 fatty acid – docosahexaenoic acid – to the brain, the researchers said.

Omega-3 fatty acids are believed to be important for brain health, and are found in seafood such as salmon and sardines.

The researchers noted that this led to higher levels of neurodegeneration (or neurodegeneration/nerve degeneration) in the mice and their offspring.

Additional human studies are needed to verify the effects seen in mice. But the researchers said they were keen to study the effects of deep frying oils on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Source: The Sun