評論
打印
How a high-fat diet could make you anxious
心情不好吃份炸雞？研究發現高脂飲食或加劇焦慮
When we’re stressed out, many of us turn to junk food for solace. But new CU Boulder research suggests this strategy may backfire.
許多人在壓力大時會選擇用垃圾食品來安慰自己。但科羅拉多大學博爾德分校的一項新研究表明，這種策略可能適得其反。
The study found that in animals, a high-fat diet disrupts resident gut bacteria, alters behavior and, through a complex pathway connecting the gut to the brain, influences brain chemicals in ways that fuel anxiety.
研究發現，動物實驗顯示，高脂肪飲食可能破壞體內的腸道菌群，并通過腸道和大腦之間的復雜通路，影響大腦中的化學物質，從而加劇焦慮。
“Everyone knows that these are not healthy foods, but we tend to think about them strictly in terms of a little weight gain,” said lead author Christopher Lowry, a professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder. “If you understand that they also impact your brain in a way that can promote anxiety, that makes the stakes even higher.”
該研究的主要作者、科羅拉多大學博爾德分校綜合生理學教授克里斯托弗·羅瑞稱，“大家都知道高脂肪食物不健康，但我們往往只是從控制體重的角度出發。如果你明白它們還會以加劇焦慮的方式影響你的大腦，那么其危害就更大了。”
In a previous study, the team found that rats fed a high-fat diet consisting primarily of saturated fat showed increases in neuroinflammation and anxiety-like behavior.
在之前的一項研究中，研究團隊發現，飼喂高脂肪飲食(主要由飽和脂肪組成)的大鼠表現出神經炎癥和類似焦慮行為增加。
While evidence is mixed, some human studies have also shown that replacing a high-fat, high-sugar, ultra-processed diet with a healthier one can reduce depression and anxiety.
盡管證據不一，但一些人類研究也表明，用更健康的飲食替代高脂肪、高糖、超加工飲食可以減少抑郁和焦慮。
To better understand what may be driving the fat-anxiety connection, Lowry’s team divided male 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.
為了更好地理解是什么導致了脂肪焦慮的聯系，研究團隊將處于“青春期”年齡段的大鼠分為兩組：其中一組大鼠連續9周被投喂約含11%脂肪的標準飲食，另一組則吃含45%脂肪的高脂肪飲食，這些脂肪主要是動物產品中的飽和脂肪。
Throughout the study, the researchers collected fecal samples and assessed the animals’ microbiome, or gut bacteria. After nine weeks, the animals underwent behavioral tests.
整個研究過程中，研究人員收集實驗鼠糞便樣本，評估它們的腸道細菌狀況。9周的飲食實驗后，這些實驗鼠接受了行為測試。
When 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.
結果顯示，與對照組相比，高脂飲食組的實驗鼠不僅體重增加，其腸道細菌多樣性也明顯較低。
The high-fat diet group also showed higher expression of three genes (tph2, htr1a, and slc6a4) involved in production and signaling of the neurotransmitter serotonin—particularly in a region of the brainstem known as the dorsal raphe nucleus cDRD, which is associated with stress and anxiety.
高脂肪飲食組還顯示，大鼠體內與神經遞質血清素的產生和信號傳遞有關的三個基因表達（tph2, htr1a, slc6a4）水平較高，且在腦干中縫背核的某一區域尤其明顯，該區域與壓力和焦慮有關。
While serotonin is often billed as a “feel-good brain chemical,” Lowry notes that certain subsets of serotonin neurons can, when activated, prompt anxiety-like responses in animals. Notably, heightened expression of tph2, or tryptophan hydroxylase, in the cDRD has been associated with mood disorders and suicide risk in humans.
盡管血清素通常被認為是一種“讓人感覺良好的大腦化學物質”，羅瑞指出，當某些血清素神經元亞群被激活時，可以在動物中引發類似焦慮的反應。值得注意的是，cDRD中tph2(或色氨酸羥化酶)的表達增加與人類的情緒障礙和自殺風險相關。
Lowry stresses that not all fats are bad, and that healthy fats like those found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds can be anti-inflammatory and good for the brain.
羅瑞強調，并非所有的脂肪都是有害的，魚類、橄欖油、堅果和種子中的健康脂肪可以抗炎，對大腦有益。
But his research in animals suggests that exposure to an ultra-high-fat diet consisting of predominantly saturated fats, particularly at a young age, could both boost anxiety in the short-term and prime the brain to be more prone to it in the future.
但對動物的研究表明，攝入以飽和脂肪為主的超高脂肪食物，尤其是在年輕的時候，既可以在短期內加劇焦慮，也可以使大腦在未來更容易產生焦慮。
英文來源：科羅拉多大學博爾德分校官網
編輯：董靜
審校：陳丹妮 萬月英
本文轉載自中國日報網，如有侵權，請聯系我們刪除。
