High-fat diets have ‘extraordinary’ effect on anxiety…

When feeling stressed, many of us may switch to bad food to help. Maybe some chocolate for a mid-afternoon increase, or a cake on the way home will encourage surviving another 9 to 5?

However, University of Colorado Boulder researchers found that eating greasy foods may actually worsen our anxiety.

Which, let’s face it, is n’t ideal.

The team discovered that when animals were fed a high-fat meal, their gut microbes were harmed, which in turn altered the mind chemicals that drive stress.

Everyone is aware that these high-fat foods are not good, but we typically think about them only with the goal of gaining some pounds, according to lead author Professor Christopher Lowry. &nbsp,

The stakes are also higher “if you understand that they also have an effect on your head that can cause panic.”

The government advises that people consume 20g of saturated fat per day, while males only consume 30g, which accounts for approximately 11 % of our total energy intake.

But, in the UK, many persons exceed this, and in the US, the Centers for Disease Control says the normal diet is around 36 % fat.

The scientists studied child animals, which were divided into two groups, to examine the effects of this on mental health. One ate a high-fat meal of 45 % for nine months, while the other ate a regular diet of 11 % fat.

During the investigation, published in Biological Research, the group collected intestinal samples to determine gut bacteria, and at the end of the research used tests to determine what effects, if any, the meal had on their behavior.

Unsurprisingly, the animals on the large- fat diet were heavier than those in the various team, but they also showed a substantially less diverse gut bacteria. In particular, they hosted far more of a germs in the class known as Firmicutes, and fewer in the class called Bacteroidetes.

In the high-fat party, three genes that are involved in the serotonin production were also more effective.

While dopamine is usually thought of as a’ sense- good’ hormone, some neurons, or nerve cells, have been shown to produce an anxiety- like response when activated by it. One of the three genes, called tryptophan hydroxylase, or tph2, is also associated with mood disorders and death threat in people.

‘ To think that only a higher- large diet could alter expression of these genes in the brain is remarkable,’ said Professor Lowry.’ The high-fat group’s brains basically exhibited a high stress state.

Although never yet confirmed, Professor Lowry believes that the compromise of the gut lining that causes high-fat food contributes to worry. This opens the bloodstream, where bacteria can finally speak with the mind via the vagus nerve, a transmission from the digestive tract to the brain.

‘ If you think about individual progression, it makes sense,’ he said. ‘ We are trained to identify the symptoms of illness so that we can treat those symptoms in the future.

He added that not all fats are bad, and that some research shows great fats, such as from olive, can counteract the poor, such as from a steak.

In addition, good fat like those found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds can get anti- inflammation and good for the brain.

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