Can Fast Food Consumption Habits Damage Brain GPS?

Illustration (Robin Stickel/Pexels)

JAKARTA - In the midst of the sparkling fast food culture such as tantalizing burgers, crunchy fries, refreshing sugary drinks, there is an important question: what happens to the brain if it too often surrenders to the temptation? A recent study shows that high diets of saturated fat and fine sugar not only have an impact on the weight and risk of chronic diseases. But it can also "disrupt" the brain's ability to navigate the environment. Yes, even the internal system of brain GPS or the ability to remember routes, locations, and orientation may be losing its way.

Research from the University of Sydney, cited from Medical Daily, Thursday, September 25, found that fast food-dominated diets can interfere with brain's ability to map locations and orientations. In experiments that use branded virtuallattices (landmarks), participants who often eat high-fat saturated foods and refined sugars have difficulty given the location of treasure pieces' after several experiments. They are also weaker when they have to mark locations from memory, compared to those who run healthier eating patterns.

The most affected part of the brain is the hippocampus, a region that plays a key role in the formation of memory and spatial navigation. Damage or disruption of the hippocampus function can result in difficulties in recognizing roads, losing orientation even in environments that should be familiar.

The good news is that this disorder is not permanent. Researchers say that the human brain can recover if you are on a diet intervention, for example, reducing consumption of saturated sugar and fat and increasing nutritional intake that supports brain health. With a new diet, spatial navigation and memory capabilities can improve.

Research results emphasize that this vulnerability arises in early times of adulthood, a period when cognitive functions are usually still optimal. Thus, changes in a healthy lifestyle from an early age will have a large effect on the quality of life in the future, not only physically, but also mentally and cognitively.

Fast food is tempting. Practically, affordable, and meeting most of the tongue's appetite for instant speed and deliciousness. However, you need to ask, how often are you willing to sacrifice your mind's navigation for a box of burgers or fries? If you constantly choose fast food, sugar, abundant saturated fat, you may be letting your brain get lost without realizing it.