Summary: A recent study has found that the gut bacteria may be altered by the Mediterranean nutrition to improve mental function. Rats fed a Mediterranean-style eating showed different bacterial changes linked to better memory, mental agility, and working memory compared to those on a European diet.
Beneficial bacteria rates increased, while damaging people decreased, improving efficiency on memory and learning tasks. These findings point to the gut, which may be beneficial for young adults during crucial developmental stages, and suggest that diet patterns may affect mental health.
Important Information:
- Gut-Brain Connection: The Mediterranean eating reshapes gut bacteria, improving mental performance.
- Mental Profits: Better memory, freedom, and working memory were linked to heart germs changes.
- Dietary Impact: Mediterranean elements like olive oil, tuna, and grain boosted beneficial bacteria.
Origin: Tulane University
A new Tulane University , study  , suggests the Mediterranean food’s brain-boosting benefits may work by changing the balance of bacteria in the gut.
Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine discovered that subjects who ate a Mediterranean diet had significantly diverse gut microbes styles compared to those who consumed a typical American diet in a study published in Gut Microbes Reviews.
Better recollection and mental performance were correlated with these microbiological changes.
” We’ve known that what we eat affects mental performance, but this research explores how that could become happening”, said guide author , Rebecca Solch-Ottaiano, PhD, neuroscience research professor at Tulane’s Clinical Neuroscience Research Center.
Our observations suggest that gut microbiome changes can affect mental performance.
The research found that rats fed a Mediterranean-style meal high in olive oil, fish, and fiber for 14 days showed increases in four useful gut microbes and decreases in five people when compared to animals eating a Western diet high in saturated fats.
These bacterial changes were linked to better performance on maze challenges designed to test memory and learning.
Specifically, higher levels of bacteria such as , Candidatus Saccharimonas , were associated with better cognitive performance, while increased levels of other bacteria, such as , Bifidobacterium, correlated with poorer memory function.
In contrast to the Western diet group, the Mediterranean diet group also demonstrated better cognitive flexibility, or ability to adapt to new information. They maintained lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
In a rodent model, the first study to compare the Mediterranean diet’s effects on microbiota and cognitive function outcomes to those measured by the Western diet. The researchers used young rats roughly the same age as 18-year-old humans to study the effects of diet during a crucial developmental period.
The diets were based on human consumption and used ingredients that reflected the breadth of human diets. The Mediterranean diet ( MeDi) showed clear benefits for cognitive flexibility, memory, and gut health, suggesting potential parallels in young adults whose brains and bodies are still maturing.
” Our findings suggest that the Mediterranean diet or its biological effects could be harnessed to improve scholastic performance in adolescents, or work performance in young adults”, said corresponding author , Dr. Demetrius M. Maraganore, Herbert J. Harvey, Jr. Chair of Neurosciences.
These findings are based on animal models, but they echoe human studies that link the Mediterranean diet to better memory and a lower risk of dementia.
The researchers emphasize the need for more extensive human studies to confirm these findings and better understand the complex relationship between young people’s diet, gut bacteria, and brain function.
Key elements for those who want to eat according to the Mediterranean diet are:
– Olive oil as the primary fat source
– Abundant vegetables, fruits and whole grains
– Fish and lean proteins
– Fewer saturated fats and red meat
– High fiber intake from various plant sources
Other Tulane co-authors of the study include Elizabeth B. Engler-Chiurazzi, Colin Harper, Savannah Wasson, Sharon Ogbonna, Blake Ouvrier, Hanyun Wang, Madison Prats, Katherine McDonald, Ifechukwude J. Biose, Lori A. Rowe, MaryJane Jones, Chad Steele and Gregory Bix.
About this news about diet and cognition research
Author: Keith Brannon
Source: Tulane University
Contact: Keith Brannon – Tulane University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
Comparing the gut microbiota and cognitive function of young sprague dawley rats with two different diets, the Mediterranean and the Western. Gut Microbes Reports
Abstract
Comparison of brain function and gut microbiota in young sprague dawley rats using two different diets, Mediterranean and Western.
Clinical studies have shown that the impact of diet quality on cognition in young people ( 15 to 24 years old ) is clear.
In contrast to the Western diet, which is frequently consumed, the Mediterranean diet ( MeDi) has been shown to improve cognition. The gut microbiome may provide a mechanism for cognition-related diet-induced changes.
Ten-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned a MeDi or WD ( n = 10/group ) for 14 weeks. Prior to neurobehavior assessments, microbiota community composition was assessed.
Four bacteria ‘ relative abundance increased with the MeDi, and five decreased compared to the WD. In contrast to the WD group, rats in the MeDi group demonstrated cognitive flexibility and improvement in reference and working memory.
At the end of the study, serum cytokines were increased, and low-density lipoproteins were decreased in the MeDi group. Markers for neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier, glial cells, and synaptic plasticity in brain regions did not differ between groups.
Overall, the MeDi modulated gut microbiota, cognitive function, and serum lipid and cytokines but not gene expression in the brain compared to the WD.
Further studies are needed to determine causality between diet-modulated gut microbiota, cognitive function, and immune function.
