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Western diet: Implications for brain function and behavior
The Western Diet (WD), defined by a significant daily consumption of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates, frequently results in obesity and being overweight, and was observed to cause cognitive impairments and emotional derangements in animal and human studies. The WD causes dysregulation of the gut microbiome which impacts cerebral function via several mechanisms, including the gut-brain-microbiome axis. Furthermore, the long-term exposure to highly palatable foods found in the WD may incite an addictive-like dietary pattern, coupled with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis derangements, which is linked to chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. Consequently, chronic stress impacts eating behavioral patterns, which may lead to significant negative impacts on cerebral areas like the hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and other cortical regions. Also, states of obesity and overweight are linked to neuroinflammation, which further leads to neuronal dysfunction. In this review by López-Taboada et al. (2020), the authors present a summary of the available evidence outlining the mechanisms and aspects linking the WD to alterations in brain function and behavior, in addition to potential therapeutic interventions, preventative interventions, and limitations faced with respect to this dietary pandemic. [NPID: Western diet, addiction, cognition, gut-brain axis, stress]
Year: 2020
