A study published
in the Annals of Neurology found that
the more saturated fat the women in this study (all of whom were over the age
of 65) ate, the worse their cognitive functioning.
Conversely, the
more "good" fat (mono-unsaturated fat from e.g. olive oil, avocados,
etc ) they ate, the better their cognition.
2 things: there’s
really no reason to assume that similar results wouldn’t occur in younger women
as well as men, ergo, it makes sense to me that a diet high in saturated fat –
at whatever age - may be linked to progressive deterioration in cognitive
functioning.
That said, it may
not be the saturated fat that’s the culprit in the drop in cognitive powers.
In fact, I think
it’s more likely that the high-saturated fat intake is a marker for a poorer
overall lifestyle, that is, women (and men) who eat lots of red meat and butter
(which are the major sources of saturated fat for American adults, and this
study was done in the US) are also, I think, less likely to eat lots of
veggies, do a bit of exercise, etc., and it’s really that overall poorer
lifestyle, I think, that’s to blame for the cognitive drop.
In other words, I
will not stop using using butter to fry my eggs and to eat lots of cheese.
