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The documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock demonstrated it in 2004 in his self-experiment "Super Size Me". He spent 30 days eating fast food exclusively for his movie, after which he was not only 11 pounds heavier and a little sicker – he was also unhappy. Researchers from Med-Uni Graz have now addressed this subject scientifically. As recently published, diets with a very high fat content can influence the development of depression through changes in the microbiome. In the mouse model, the interaction between the intestine and the brain was examined, said on Monday the Med-Uni
Leberkäsesemmel, Hamburger, Doner Kebab, frozen pizzas: the diet not only affects the weight, but also shines. affect the mental condition. "Many are aware of the health effects of a very high fat diet, but not only does the body suffer from too much fat, but also from the mind," says Peter Holzer of the Ottoman Research Center. Loewi from Med-University Graz. In collaboration with colleagues from Belgium and Great Britain, his team studied the effects of a high-fat diet on the intestinal microbiome (the sum of microorganisms colonizing the intestine, note), brain metabolism , the neuropeptide-messenger Y and the behavior of mice. 19659003] Antisocial Behavior After a High-Fat Diet
During the study, the mice received a diet with a fat content of 60 percent for several weeks. This resulted in a significant increase in weight, while the control group with a balanced diet remained stable with up to twelve percent fat. It was predictable, but "after eight weeks of high-fat diet, animal behavior had changed dramatically," says Ahmed M. Hbadan of the Holzer group. Thus, high fat mice fed less interacted with their mates, neglected their grooming and showed little desire for sugar water. All signs of depressive behavior in mice, according to Hbadan.
Researchers have sought to understand how the high-fat diet can cause such mental changes. First of all, it has been shown that in mice subjected to an unfavorable diet, the composition of the bacterial species – particularly of the group Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes – had changed. Firmicutes also include bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae family. In these animals and in Ruminococcaceae, there is a decrease in the large intestine of mice and patients
Neurochemical disorders in the brain
. Striking neurochemical disturbances in mouse brains occurred with microbial changes: Colleagues from Reading University (Great Britain) examined mouse brains using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and discovered both metabolic changes as well as signal transmission. Thus, the expression of neuropeptide-Y in certain areas of the brain, among others for appetite, anxiety and mood, is significantly reduced.
"These effects indicate a brain function disorder that may explain depressive behavior after a high-fat diet," Holzer concludes reluctantly. Nevertheless, despite the newly discovered connections, many questions remain open about nutrition, the intestine, the microbiome and the psyche. Holzer's group is now trying to discover by manipulation which parts of the intestinal microbiome are causally implicated in fat-induced depression. Since antidepressant treatment in mice had no influence on depressive type behavior, the scientists badume that it is a very special interaction between dietary factors, the intestinal microbiome and cerebral dysfunction.
Source: Hbadan A. Mancano G., K. Kashofer, Holzer P. et al., "The high-fat diet induces depression-like behavior in mice badociated with changes in the microbiome, neuropeptides Y and the cerebral metabolome ", Nutritional Neurosciences.
(APA)
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