Liam In today’s society, fatty foods are widely available and in large quantities, mostly in the form of highly processed foods. As high as this availability is, so is the consumption of these foods, which cause damage to and stress our body in a variety of ways. Many people are aware of the fact that fatty foods can lead to the widespread disease of obesity.
However, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolic Research have now found that consuming too much fat can have far more drastic consequences , because: Fat damages the brain cells and can lead to diabetes in the long term.
Brain can no longer be supplied
A study by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research is decisive for this finding. You can find more information about the study here.
As part of an experiment, mice were fed high-fat food over a longer period of time. After just three days of this special diet, readings showed that the brain cannot be optimally supplied with glucose. Free saturated fatty acids, which are ingested through fatty foods, are responsible for this performance-influencing deficit. They have a toxic effect on the blood-brain barrier and thus lead to a regression of the glucose transport protein GLUT-1.
This procedure can be compared to the procedure of a poorly briefed doorman:
Regular customers are refused entry to their favorite club until they eventually stay away.
The result is a lack of concentration and less performance
Due to the lack of glucose in the brain, more precisely in the hypothalamus, the physical condition of the mice deteriorated. Their mental performance decreased significantly, and the glucose deficiency also had a negative effect on the memory of the mice. The hypothalamus, which was undersupplied in the experiment, is a section of the diencephalon that primarily controls the vegetative functions of the body – heartbeat, breathing, regulation of body temperature and influencing hormones.
The egotistical brain
In addition to a deterioration in the physical and mental condition, the undersupply of the brain carries the following risk above all: If the brain gets too little glucose for a longer period of time supplied, the body develops a survival mechanism that is only beneficial for the brain. This survival mechanism helps the brain to compensate for the lack of glucose – at the expense of the rest of the body, because: The immune system increasingly produces the growth factor VEGF, which in turn increases the production of the glucose transport protein GLUT-1. The increased number of transport protein is released directly at the blood-brain barrier. In addition, the appetite for sweet foods increases, accordingly more sugary foods are consumed and the sugar absorption in the muscles and adipose tissue is restricted. The brain has more glucose available and the glucose level can be balanced.
As mentioned above, this process may be profitable for our brain, but not for the rest of our body. In order to permanently limit the absorption of glucose in muscles and fat, the cells have to become resistant to the body’s own insulin. This creeping process can lead to diabetes if it is not interrupted early.
Quellen:
https://www.sf.mpg.de/ 1788749 / news_publication_10473241
