Eating fatty foods before surgery can cause an inflammatory response in the brain and impair memory in older people and young adults, but certain omega-3 fatty acids may have a protective effect.
- Eating fatty foods before surgery impairs memory for several weeks.
- In elderly patients, two types of memory are affected – contextual and fear-related – while in young people only fear-related memory is impaired.
- A diet rich in DHA omega-3 fatty acids followed for a month before surgery could prevent the harmful effects of it.
It is well known that eating fat is not good for your health. Before surgery, it could even impair memory for several weeks in old and young patients, according to a study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.“A poor diet, even in the short term, especially when consumed shortly before a surgical procedure, which in itself will cause an inflammatory response, can have harmful results, indicates Ruth Barrientos, one of the authors, in a communicated. A high-fat diet alone can increase inflammation in the brain a little, but if you then have surgery that does the same thing, [vous pouvez souffrir d’] a longer-term memory problem.”
Immune system receptor causes memory problems linked to surgery and diet
In their study, researchers fed old and young rats a diet high in saturated fat three days before a surgical procedure known to cause cognitive impairment in elderly patients. At the same time, a group of so-called control rats received anesthesia but without surgical intervention. The authors observed that an immune system receptor, called TLR4, was responsible for brain inflammation and memory problems due to both surgery and diet. They dissociated two types of memory: the so-called contextual memory, based in the hippocampus, and that of fear, located in the amygdala. Both were affected for at least two weeks in aged rats that ate fat and underwent surgery.
For younger rodents, memory deficits were only observed for that related to fear. Their contextual memory remained unscathed. Finally, scientists also found that, in older rats, eating a fatty diet alone could cause memory problems. “Fear memory is particularly vulnerable to the effects of diet”, both in young and older rats, explains Ruth Barrientos. “In the future, we hope to better understand the vulnerability of the amygdala to poor diet.“
Memory: the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids
Researchers distinguish a diet rich in fat and processed foods from one rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may on the contrary have a protective effect. “DHA [docosahexaènoïque, un type d’acides gras oméga 3] has proven to be very effective in preventing these changes, continues Ruth Barrientos. They could be a preventive treatment before surgery, especially for people who have a poor diet.” According to the team, a diet rich in DHA omega-3 fatty acids followed for a month before surgery could prevent the harmful effects of surgery (and a poor diet) on the memory of old and young rats. .
