High-fat diet *may* fuel anxiety [rat study]

[SorellaLaBefana]

...New research shows when animals are fed a diet high in saturated fat for nine weeks, their gut bacteria change in ways that influence brain chemicals and fuel anxiety...

...divided adolescent rats into two groups: Half got a standard diet of about 11% fat for nine weeks; the others got a high-fat diet of 45% fat, consisting mostly of saturated fat from animal products.

The typical American diet is about 36% fat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

...compared to the control group, the group eating a high-fat diet, not surprisingly, gained weight. But the animals also showed significantly less diversity of gut bacteria. Generally speaking, more bacterial diversity is associated with better health, Lowry explained. They also hosted far more of a category of bacteria called Firmicutes and less of a category called Bacteroidetes. A higher Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio has been associated with the typical industrialized diet and with obesity...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240617173547.htm

Overall this study emphasizes how dietary choice, particularly going for saturated fats, might disrupt the gut bacterial microbiome, alter brain chemistry and potentially exacerbate anxiety.

As is so oft the case, a diverse and balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and with only moderate amounts of animals is best for rats—and most likely for other omnivores such as ourselves.