Why junk food might mess up your brain
Role of AIM2 and cGAS-STING signaling in high fat high carbohydrate diet-induced gut dysbiosis associated neurodegeneration.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When mice eat lots of fat and sugar, their gut bacteria get out of balance, which makes their gut leaky and triggers inflammation that spreads to the brain, damaging brain cells and making them forgetful.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 511 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When mice eat lots of fat and sugar, their gut bacteria get out of balance, which makes their gut leaky and triggers inflammation that spreads to the brain, damaging brain cells and making them forgetful.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 511 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Mallick K, Islam SR, Krishna V, Manna SK, Banerjee S
Related Content
Claims (6)
In mice fed a diet high in fat and carbohydrates, activation of specific cellular signaling pathways in the hippocampus is linked to increased inflammation and damage to nerve cells, which may contribute to reduced cognitive function.
In C57BL/6 mice, long-term feeding of a diet high in fats and carbohydrates is linked to changes in gut microbes, increased leakage in the intestinal barrier, inflammation throughout the body and brain, and measurable reductions in cognitive performance.
In mice, diets high in fat cause similar levels of gut imbalance, metabolic problems, and cognitive decline whether or not they also contain high amounts of carbohydrates, suggesting that carbohydrates are not the main factor driving these effects in this model.
In mice fed an unhealthy diet, probiotic supplements are linked to improvements in gut bacteria, lower inflammation in the intestines and brain, and reduced loss of cognitive function.
In C57BL/6 mice, a diet high in fats and carbohydrates is associated with lower levels of TFAM protein, higher levels of mitochondrial DNA in the cell cytoplasm, and activation of innate immune responses, which are connected to inflammation in the brain and reduced cognitive performance.