Feeling Blue? Put the French Fries Down - New Study Links High Fat Diet with Depression

If you feeling a little blue lately, experts suggest to cut out any high-fat foods you may be consuming. Diets high in fat can lead to not only weight gain and heart disease, but depression and behavior changes, according to a new study at Louisiana State University.

Microbiologists have known for some time that different diets create different gut flora - the trillions of bacterial cells live inside you and help your body function in good conditions.

A study on mice found that when gut bacteria transferred from other mice fed with a high fat diet changed their behavior in a negative way, exhibiting anxiety or impaired memory.

The recipient mice were then evaluated for changes in behaviour and cognition. The mice experienced multiple disruption in behavior, including increased anxiety, impaired memory, and repetitive behavior. In the brain, signs of inflammation were also discovered, suggesting these were actually the triggers for the erratic behavior.

All of these highlight quite serious mental health problems associated with obesity, independent of the psychological warfare obesity often wages against its hosts who are social and self-inflicting stigma.

"This paper suggests that high-fat diets impair brain health, in part, by disrupting the symbiotic relationship between humans and the microorganisms that occupy our gastrointestinal tracks," Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry

These findings provide evidence that diet-induced changes to the gut microbiome are sufficient to alter brain function even in the absence of obesity.

The research team says it's possible their study reveals the potential application of the gut microbiome to treat neuropsychiatric disorders.