An online forum recently posted a question asking why people so often forget what they had to eat soon after they finish a meal. Answers included everything from "the food was boring" to "you're eating on autopilot" and "you always eat the same bunch of foods, so nothing stands out."

Those reasons certainly sound plausible, but there's a science-based explanation for a bad memory that can apply to anyone who eats whole dairy, lard, shortening, meat, and other saturated-fat-loaded foods.

Lab-based research published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience shows that a diet high in saturated fats actually alters the brain's ability to form and retain memories.

That's because saturated fat causes brain inflammation, damaging neurons in the hippocampus that are essential for learning and recall. Specifically, it’s the palmitic acid in saturated fat that alters gene expression, leading to heightened inflammation.

Want to block the damage to your brain from saturated fat and keep your circuits humming with a lifetime's bounty of memories?

Enjoy the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, found in salmon and sea trout, as well as walnuts and supplements. The researchers said DHA can directly protect against the memory-destroying effects of palmitic acid.

I suggest taking 1,100 mg daily.

For meals that you will remember fondly, enjoy the DHA-loving recipes for fish and nuts in my "What to Eat When Cookbook."