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Addiction Recovery Bulletin
NERVOUS BELLY –
July 10, 2024 – “Everyone knows that these are not healthy foods, but we tend to think about them strictly in terms of a little weight gain,” said Christopher Lowry, at University of Colorado Boulder. “If you understand that they also impact your brain in a way that can promote anxiety, that makes the stakes even higher.” “The high-fat group essentially had the molecular signature of a high anxiety state in their brain.”
The researchers hypothesize that the disrupted gut microbiota might compromise the gut lining, allowing bacteria and their metabolites to enter the bloodstream and interact with the brain via the vagus nerve. This gut-brain communication pathway could influence brain function and contribute to the observed anxiety-like behaviors. The findings indicate that the high-fat diet not only affected physical health, as evidenced by weight gain and changes in gut bacteria, but also had profound effects on mental health by altering brain chemistry.
The study’s limitations include its reliance on an animal model, which may not fully replicate human physiology and behavior. Future research should aim to confirm these results in human subjects, explore the specific gut-brain communication mechanisms, and examine the impact of different types of dietary fats.
“Considering the early introduction of high-fat foods in children’s diets, and the ever-increasing obesity epidemic, our data introduce a possible scenario by which the dietary choices during adolescence can influence the gut microbiome, brainstem serotonergic systems, and the susceptibility to the development of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. This knowledge could lead to new microbiome-based approaches to prevent stress-related psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders,” the researchers concluded.
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