We’ve all heard about the dangers of trans fats. Now it turns out they can do more than just clog your arteries: they might also be messing with your memory.

According to findings presented to the American Heart Association, men who ate large amounts of trans fats showed a significantly reduced ability to recall words during a memory test. The study found those with the most trans fats in their diet suffered as much as a 10 percent reduction in the words they could recall.

Trans fats are known to increase blood levels of so-called “bad cholesterol and decrease levels of HDL – the (“good”) cholesterol.

Small levels of trans fats naturally occur in milk and meat, but artificial trans fats are used in processed foods, fast food, baked goods, and snack foods.

Researchers decided to investigate trans fats’ potential effect on memory following another study they did that found that chocolate improved memory.

They used a proven test called “recurrent words,” to asses memory and the bottom line was the higher the trans fat consumption, the worse the performance.