Could a High-Fat Diet Lead to Depression?

A recent study carried out by researchers from the University of Glasgow has found evidence suggesting that there is a strong correlation between eating a high-fat diet and developing depression. The research shows that particular dietary fats have the ability to enter the brain and disrupt specific signaling pathways located inside the hypothalamus. This type of disruption leads to the induction of depression.

Researchers have long agreed that there is a direct link between obesity and depression, but that link has mostly been deemed psychological. Newer studies are finding physiological traits to the link.

A 2018 study focused on mice, found that when mice were fed a high fat diet, they began to display depressive behaviors. The behaviors remained until the mice were given microbiome altering antibiotics. This implies that high fat diets may have the ability to cultivate particular types of gut bacteria that possess the ability to create neurochemical changes that cause depression symptoms.

Further investigation into this revealed that the characteristics of depression were a result of the disruptions in the cAMP/PKA signaling located inside the hypothalamus. These disruptions are a result of the accumulation of various dietary fatty acids inside the hypothalamus. This revelation goes a long way to explaining exactly why obesity causes depression.

It also means that people participating in a high fat diet will have to take extra precautions to monitor the state of their mental health. Although, there is not yet any conclusive trials run on humans, the initial evidence is nonetheless compelling. Therefore, if you are feeling depressed, a solution may be to go on a weight loss and exercise plan designed to burn fats in a healthy way.