I recently came across an interesting article on the effect of free radicals on brain aging. Reactive oxygen species have a damaging effect on DNA, and are responsible for the functional decline of aging brains. Remembering the old days when I used to spend countless hours reading medical literature, it reminded me that PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acyl chains) release some free radicals when they are consumed to create energy.

And, tragically, PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acyl chains) tend to accumulate in human tissues if we consume them in excess. This means that any aged person who overconsumes PUFAs will risk increasing free radical damage to their brain, with all the side-effects that this entails. In addition to this, due to the changes in human diet, the amount of polyunsaturated fats in modern diets is about six times as large as it once used to be. Nowadays, we over-consume them. Nowadays, too, there are more people with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s than in many other prior moments in history. I also wonder if the increase in autism and other neurological problems in youths could be linked to the overconsumption of polyunsaturated fats.

The study I read was quite unpleasant to read, for it described free radical chain reactions in the brain. This is a problem that nobody wants in their brain nor in the brains of their loved ones. The study also experimented with increasing the amount of saturated and monounsaturated fats to the brain. While the added PUFAs did create oxidative degradation, this was not the case for added saturated or monounsaturated fats. It is shocking, then, that our culture encourages the unlimited increase of polyunsaturated fats, fearing heart disease. In our prevention of a perhaps lesser evil, we are instead encouraging the neurodegeneration of youths and elders alike, and their impaired cognitive performance.

This is especially true in countries where monogastric animals are mostly fed using high PUFA foods, such as soybean oil, and where other high PUFA ingredients are used in the processed food system. In North America, many farmers are feeding more and more polyunsaturated fats to their animals, in the perhaps partly false belief that this will increase the PUFA content of their meat, and will thus make it healthier for humans.

The more I analyze the potential risks and benefits of the choice between saturated and polyunsaturated fats, the more I wonder if the ordinary person is aware of the choice that most doctors and nutritionists are making for them. Because, as it is, being uninformed of the risk of increasing the so-called good fats may come at a hefty price for some. I have seen neurodegeneration and the consequences of heart attacks, and quite a few people would perhaps be more content in the latter.

Of course, further research must be made into these circumstances, and it would be unwise to apply life-altering changes to one’s diet based on a single article. But this does give some food for thought, undoubtedly.

Further Reading

1. Free Radical Chain Reactions and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Brain Lipids
   1. PUFA oxidation products [in the brain] have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders.
2. Free radicals and brain aging
   1. free radical/ROS/RNS involvement in brain aging is direct as well as correlative. Increasing evidence demonstrates that accumulation of oxidation of DNA, proteins, and lipids by free radicals are responsible for the functional decline in aged brains.
3. An update on lipid oxidation and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases
   1. Under oxidative stress, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-containing phospholipids and cholesterol esters in cellular membrane and lipoproteins can be readily oxidized through a free radical-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO) process to form a complex mixture of oxidation products. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that these oxidized lipids are actively involved in the inflammatory responses in atherosclerosis by interacting with immune cells (such as macrophages) and endothelial cells.