Protect your brain — say no to this junk flavoring

I’ve never understood the appeal of that butter-flavored goop they pump on popcorn at movie theaters. It has always tasted more like butter-flavored film to me. (Ahhh…there’s the connection.)

Turns out, it might not only have been my taste buds that said, “No thank you!” My brain might have sensed danger.

Diacetyl is a “butter flavorant.” Food producers put it in microwave popcorn, margarines, baked goods, and snacks. It’s the flavorant in the movie theater goop, of course. (And they even put it in some wines!)

In other words, it’s everywhere. And that might add up to tragedy.

A recent report reveals three ways diacetyl could contribute to…of all things…Alzheimer’s disease…

1) It appears to turn brain proteins into beta amyloid. That’s the substance that forms plaques that cause Alzheimer’s.

2) Diacetyl may inhibit the natural system that clears beta-amyloid from the brain.

3) Diacetyl is similar to a chemical that promotes beta-amyloid clumping.

Do your brain a favor and skip the butter flavoring.

Sources:
“Popcorn’s butter flavoring may trigger Alzheimer’s disease” New York Daily News, 8/13/12, nydailynews.com