Credit: www.iamthatlady.com

Credit: www.iamthatlady.com

So often we hear about the negative effects of a high-fat diet: The more fatty foods we eat, the more we put ourselves at risk for diseases, such as obesity and heart disease. But do high-fat foods threaten our psyche, too?

A study recently published in the journal Biological Psychiatry hypothesized a high-fat diet produces changes in health and behavior (partly) by altering a person’s gut microbiota. Prior research suggests “alterations in the microbiome may underlie the host’s susceptibility to illness, including neuropsychiatric impairment” — and present researchers decided to put this theory to the test. The transplanted gut microbiota from mice maintaining a high-fat or control diet to non-obese mice maintain a normal diet.

When evaluating recipient mice for changes in behavior and cognition, the mice who received microbiota from the mice maintaining a high-fat diet experienced increased anxiety, impaired memory, and repetitive behaviors. They also showed “many detrimental effects in the body, including increased intestinal permeability and markers of inflammation.” This is all in addition to signs of inflammation in the brain.

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