Low-Fat Diets, Much Forgetfulness

Daily absent-mindedness, fat intake, and brain chemistry

Do you find yourself forgetting your glasses on your face or head? Do you leave your phone or keys at home when you go out? Or do you get a nagging doubt after leaving home, wondering "Did I turn off the stove, did I turn off the electricity?" Often, a common reason underlies these small but annoying forgetfulness episodes.

When a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which plays a crucial role in the brain, decreases for various reasons, such absent-mindedness can occur more frequently. Acetylcholine is closely related to attention, focus, and short-term memory. Difficulty remembering simple tasks in daily life can sometimes be linked to a deficiency of this substance.

One of the significant reasons for decreased acetylcholine levels is very low-fat diets. Dietary patterns that are poor in fat can negatively affect acetylcholine production in the long term. This is because the essential substances required for the synthesis of acetylcholine are obtained by the body through certain nutrients.

At this point, especially fatty animal foods and foods high in choline stand out. Eggs are one of the richest sources of choline, one of the fundamental building blocks of acetylcholine. However, there's an important detail here: it's essential to consume eggs whole—especially with the yolk—not just the white.

The egg yolk is extremely rich in choline. When you consume eggs whole, you obtain a more adequate amount of this important building block that supports acetylcholine production in your body. This can contribute to a reduction in attention and memory-related problems over time.

In conclusion, these frequent minor forgetfulness episodes in daily life may not always indicate a serious problem. However, recognizing the relationship between dietary patterns and brain chemistry is important for correctly interpreting these signals. Sometimes, the solution might lie in a more fundamental balance than we think.