Brain activity while cooking resembles early-stage Alzheimer’s, says new research

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Exposure to nanoparticles during cooking can bring about changes to brain activity that is similar to those seen in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, finds new research from Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (NU SEDS).

Mehdi Amouei Torkmahalleh, who is the Assistant Professor at NU SEDS, and colleagues investigated the brain activity of individuals before, during, and after exposure to ultrafine particles from cooking. 

Ultrafine particles, which can be found in cooking fumes, are very minute small and can penetrate the human body.

Participants were present during the frying of a chicken drumstick on a gas stove and were exposed to cooking ultrafine particles. 

Brain activity was recorded using an EEG before cooking, at the end of cooking, and 30 minutes after cooking. Ultrafine particle concentrations in the air were continually constantly. These reached peak levels during frying.

They found beta waves of the brain decreased during exposure to the ultrafine particles, similar to people with neurodegenerative diseases. Also, theta/beta wave ratio of the brain increased during and after exposure, similar to that observed in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Brain activity for most participants returned to normal within half-an-hour.

Professor Torkmahalleh said: “Brain responses after long-term exposure may deteriorate with time and, after sufficient long-term exposure, never revert to pre-exposure levels leading to a similar status to neurodegenerative disease. This is a novel hypothesis for our current and future research studies. This suggests people chronically exposed to cooking aerosol might progress towards Alzheimer’s.”

The changes to brain wave patterns during and shortly after exposure could be due to the ultrafine particles from the cooking fumes reaching the brain through the nose. The researchers suggest using respirators or sufficient ventilation during cooking to reduce potential risk of neurodegenerative disease.

These findings were published in Indoor Air Journal.