New research shows when animals are fed a diet high in saturated fat for nine weeks, their gut bacteria change in ways that influence brain chemicals and fuel anxiety.
When stressed out, many of us turn to junk food for solace. But new University of Colorado Boulder research suggests this strategy may backfire.
Lowry's team divided adolescent rats into two groups: Half got a standard diet of about 11% fat for nine weeks; the others got a high-fat diet of 45% fat, consisting mostly of saturated fat from animal products. When compared to the control group, the group eating a high-fat diet, not surprisingly, gained weight. But the animals also showed significantly less diversity of gut bacteria. Generally speaking, more bacterial diversity is associated with better health, Lowry explained. They also hosted far more of a category of bacteria called Firmicutes and less of a category called Bacteroidetes.
"To think that just a high-fat diet could alter expression of these genes in the brain is extraordinary," said Lowry."The high-fat group essentially had the molecular signature of a high anxiety state in their brain." Lowry stresses that not all fats are bad, and that healthy fats like those found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds can be anti-inflammatory and good for the brain.
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