Friday, December 11, 2015

Why is fat bad for the brain?

A high fat diet produces inflammation in the body, including in the brain.

Inflammation stimulates the microglia, which are part of the brains' immune system, and whose function is to destroy infection, by moving (staying active).

In obesity, these cells stop moving but eat brain synapses instead of the infectious bodies they are meant to destroy.  Functioning synapses are needed for learning which is a very important brain function.

On a mouse study, it was found that the effects of a high fat diet can be reversed in two weeks.

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