Too much fat and sugar blocks the brain

Too much fat and sugar blocks the brain
Too much fat and sugar blocks the brain
Anonim

Not only dieting puts a strain on the brain, but also too much fat and sugar - but while the former only consumes our thoughts, the latter affects cognitive flexibility, i.e. our ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances, writes Psyblog based on a study examining the relationship between long-term and short-term memory and food. They note: the most harmful thing is to take a lot of sugar into our body.

shutterstock 33610675
shutterstock 33610675

“Imagine that you are driving home on a route that you know well and are used to. Then, due to a sudden road closure, you have to immediately come up with a completely new route, Kathy Magnusson, one of the leaders of the research, introduced the topic of the study. If you introduce little sugar and fat into your body, you will have no problem finding an alternative route quickly, but if you overload yourself with them, it will block it more easily - this is the essence of the research in short.

During the experiment, mice were fed normal, high-fat and high-sugar food, and after four weeks, the mice living on the high-fat and high-sugar food began to suffer not only in physical tests, but also in mental tests. Researchers do not yet know exactly how the lack of cognitive flexibility develops, but it is certain that the brain and the bacteria in the digestive system communicate with each other.

“Bacteria release substances that act as neurotransmitters, stimulate the nervous system and the immune system, and affect a host of biological processes. We don't know what kind of messages they send, but we managed to trace their traces and their effects. […] We have known until now that fat and sugar are not good for the body, but this research proves that he althy intestinal bacteria also change because of it," the leader of the experiment summarized the results, noting that it is also important what is the interaction between food and gut bacteria. And of course the fact that those who are more prone to stress will eat more in the first place if it is difficult for them to adapt.

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