Scientists from the University of Reading and King’s College London, as part of a research team, found that a diet rich in sugar and saturated fat reduces the volume of gray matter in the brain and reduces the production of essential neurotransmitters, thereby stimulating brain development. depression. Research results published in Nutritional Neuroscience (NutNeuro).
38 students participated in the study. Participants completed a battery of psychological tests to assess symptoms of depression, reported their diet, and consented to magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Scientists tried to find out which unhealthy eating habits have a devastating effect on the psyche.
MRI scans have shown that excessive consumption of sugar and fat reduces the volume of gray matter in the frontal lobe of the brain. This area plays a role in the development of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Additionally, malnutrition has a negative impact on the cellular mechanism that stimulates GABA and glutamate production. Glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are the major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, respectively, in the mature central nervous system. Imbalances in the levels of these neurotransmitters are associated with various neurological and psychiatric disorders.
A diet rich in saturated fat and sugar reduces the number of parvalbumin interneurons (a type of neurons that communicate only with other neurons) that carry GABA to the correct parts of the brain. Increased levels of glucose and insulin in the blood due to unbalanced nutrition can also reduce the activity of GABA.
Russians before saidWhich breakfast will improve brain functions.
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Source: Gazeta
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