Eat fat to pass exams

Indulging in a fatty meal after studying for an exam could boost your results. A study in rats shows that eating a certain type of fat produces a hormone that helps the brain cement short-term memories into long-term ones.

The findings make sense from an evolutionary perspective. When foraging animals find a fatty meal, they do well to remember exactly where and how they found it.

Importantly, it has to be just the right type of fat, a healthy unsaturated fat called oleic acid. So a cheeseburger after a night of cramming may not work – try food with olive oil or soybean oil. Read more here.

Tags: Chemistry, Education, Food Science, Science