High fat diets are known to cause a variety of health problems, but new research suggests it could also influence the brain.
Recent findings made at Louisiana State University show a diet that is rich in fat could increase one's risk of depression and other psychiatric disorders, Elsevier reported. This link is most likely due to an alteration of the microbiome, which has an influence on almost every aspect of health.
"This paper suggests that high-fat diets impair brain health, in part, by disrupting the symbiotic relationship between humans and the microorganisms that occupy our gastrointestinal tracks," commented John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.
To make their findings a team of researchers transplanted the gut microbiota from donor mice that had been fed either a high-fat diet or control diet into healthy non-obese mice that were fed a regular diet.
The mice that received the microbiota created from a high-fat diet showed signs of increased anxiety, memory impairment, and repetitive behaviors. They also showed increased intestinal permeability and signs of inflammation in the body and brain.
The study provides evidence that diet-induced changes to the gut microbiome can have a significant impact on brain function. The results back up previous research that established a relationship between a number of psychiatric conditions and gastrointestinal science.
Further research is needed to uncover the exact mechanisms behind the microbiome's effect on behavior and the brain. These future findings could help create new therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatric disorders.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry.
