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Eating onion rings and French fries could increase the risk of dementia, a new study into the harms of high-fat frying suggests.
The researchers looked at the effect of foods made with large amounts of reused cooking oil, which is often the case in restaurants.
They discovered that old oil can contain brain-damaging impurities, which eventually end up in food.
Rats fed a diet rich in reused oils showed more signs of body inflammation, which is said to damage blood vessels and accelerate cognitive decline.
The researchers also detected more signs of brain damage in rats fed diets rich in reheated oils, compared to a control group.
The scientists, of the University of Chicago, said: “Frying at high temperatures has been linked to several metabolic disorders.”
Researchers warned that foods fried in reused cooking oil could cause further neuronal deterioration
“To our knowledge, we are the first to report that long-term supplementation with fried oil increases neurodegeneration.”
The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in San Antonio, Texas.
Restaurants and households regularly reuse cooking oil in fryers to prepare a variety of foods, also including vegetable fritters, donuts, and shrimp tempuras.
Deep fryer owners are recommended to change the oil in their fryers every two to eight uses, although in some cases people can keep the oil longer.
Experts have previously warned that reused cooking oil can increase the risk of exposure to impurities such as peroxides, which can damage the brain, and acrylamide, a chemical compound made in deep fryers that has been linked to cancer.
For the experiment, the scientists divided the rats into five groups.
One group, the control, ate only a standard diet for 30 days.
But the other four ate a diet with mixed oils during the same period.
They received a standard diet with 0.1 ml of unheated sesame oil, unheated sunflower oil, reheated sesame oil, or reheated sunflower oil.
The results showed that, compared to other groups, rats that consumed reheated sesame or sunflower oil had greater inflammation in the liver.
They also showed significant damage to the colon, as well as the proliferation of bacteria that release harmful toxins and damage cells.
The researchers also looked at the rats’ brains under a microscope and found that the brains of those who ate the reheated oils showed a pattern of damage indicative of dementia.
The researchers said tests would need to be done in humans to confirm the findings, but the results were worrying.
They are planning a follow-up study to investigate the effects of frying oil on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as anxiety, depression and neurodegeneration.