A high-fat diet severs the chemical link between gut and brain
PsyPost • • health
Key Points:
- A new study published in Nutritional Neuroscience reveals that chronic consumption of high-fat foods disrupts serotonin balance, increasing its levels in the gut while depleting it in brain areas responsible for mood and memory, potentially linking obesity with depression and cognitive decline.
- High-fat diets cause enterochromaffin cells in the gut to overproduce serotonin and suppress serotonin recycling, leading to gut inflammation, increased intestinal permeability, and systemic immune responses that affect brain function.
- In the brain, fatty foods increase serotonin breakdown in the hippocampus and impair serotonin receptor function in the hypothalamus, disrupting mood regulation, memory formation, and appetite control, which promotes overeating and metabolic dysfunction.
- The gut microbiome mediates these effects; a fat-rich,
