High Fat Diet Could Lead to Depression, Anxiety

High blood sugar and increased body weight due to a high-fat diet could lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to new research.

Researchers found that mice who were fed a high-fat diet had brain changes that were associated with anxious symptoms - and that the beneficial effects of an antidepressant were canceled out while the mice were eating this way.

The findings suggest that metabolic conditions like diabetes could be considered a predictor of treatment resistance when it comes to alleviating depression or anxiety.

Diabetics: Watch your diet

The research may also have implications for diabetics who adhere to a low-carb diet for weight management or insulin control, as this typically means more high-fat foods (meats, cheeses, etc.) are consumed in the absence of carbohydrate-rich foods.

A study published earlier this year in Biological Psychiatry found that high-fat diets can impair brain health, partially by disrupting the gastrointestinal tract.

In the currently study, taking the mice off a high-fat diet, researchers found, completely reversed their anxious symptoms.

"The results set the tone for future investigations on potential mechanisms that may link metabolic and psychiatric disorders," a press release on the study stated.

Source: Wiley