Eating more frozen pizza, cakes and cookies may put you at risk of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that consumption of foods with high amounts of trans fats could contribute to the development of the brain disorder. Trans fats are present in fried and processed foods. You can find it in cakes, pie crusts, crackers, biscuits and coffee creamer, among other widely consumed food products. The new study, published in the journal Neurology, shows that having higher levels of trans fats in the blood could increase Alzheimer's risk by 50 percent to 75 percent. Researchers followed more than 1,600 people in Japan for 10 years to see the impact of diets on their health. All participants started the study without signs of dementia. Researchers also took blood samples prior to the study to check trans fat levels in their body. “The study used blood marker levels of trans fats, rather than more traditionally used dietary questionnaires, which increases the scientific validity of the results,” Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, said. The researchers found that the people who consumed more sweet pastries had the highest trans fat levels in their blood. But the list of strong contributors also include margarine, candies, caramels, croissants, non-dairy creamers, ice cream and rice crackers, CNN reported Thursday. Isaacson, who was not involved in the study, added the latest findings support the growing evidence that dietary intake of trans fats can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Trans fats are present in low levels in meat and dairy foods. However, highly processed foods contain significantly higher levels of the ingredient for additional taste and texture. Trans Fats In U.S. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015, restricted the use of trans fats due to its link to increased bad cholesterol (LDL). However, the policy will only take effect in January 2020, requiring all food manufacturers to stop using the potentially harmful ingredient. Furthermore, health experts said the ban will not completely eliminate trans fats. The FDA allows companies to label foods with 0.5 grams of the ingredient with "0 grams" of trans fats. Small doses of artificial trans fats could still contribute to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzhemier's disease. "In the United States, the small amounts still allowed in foods can really add up if people eat multiple servings of these foods, and trans fats are still allowed in many other countries," Toshiharu Ninomiya, study author and a professor at Kyushu University in Japan, said in a statement. Source
