<p>Eating junk food like a samosa or burger when feeling stressed out can actually elevate anxiety levels, researchers said on Monday. &nbsp;</p>
<p>When under stress, people tend to turn to high-calorie food for solace.</p>
<p>The study by researchers at University of Colorado at Boulder found that in animals, a high-fat diet disrupts resident gut bacteria, alters behaviour and influences brain chemicals in ways that increase anxiety.</p>
<p>Lead author Christopher Lowry, a professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder, said that to think that just a high-fat diet could alter expression of these genes in the brain is extraordinary.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The high-fat group essentially had the molecular signature of a high anxiety state in their brain,&rdquo; Lowry added in the study published in the journal Biological Research.</p>
<p>Throughout the study, the researchers assessed the animals&rsquo; microbiome, or gut bacteria. When compared to the control group, the group eating a high-fat diet gained weight. But the animals also showed significantly less diversity of gut bacteria.</p>
<p>The high-fat diet group also showed higher expression of three genes involved in production and signaling of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with stress and anxiety.</p>
<p>While serotonin is often called a &ldquo;feel-good brain chemical,&rdquo; certain subsets of serotonin neurons can, when activated, prompt anxiety-like responses in animals.</p>
<p>Lowry suspects that an unhealthy microbiome compromises the gut lining, enabling bacteria to slip into the body&rsquo;s circulation and communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve, a pathway from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you think about human evolution, it makes sense,&rdquo; Lowry said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are hard-wired to really notice things that make us sick so we can avoid those things in the future.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Not all fats are bad, and healthy fats like those found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds can be anti-inflammatory and good for the brain, said researchers.</p>
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Eating junk food like samosa, burger when stressed out can fuel anxiety: Study When under stress, people tend to turn to high-calorie food for solace

Eating junk food like samosa, burger when stressed out can fuel anxiety: Study

Treatment for stress-induced exhaustion disorder needs to be relooked: Researchers

When under stress, people tend to turn to high-calorie food for solace. The study by researchers at University of Colorado at Boulder found that in animals, a high-fat diet disrupts resident gut bacteria, alters behaviour and influences brain chemicals in ways that increase anxiety

Eating junk food like samosa, burger when stressed out can fuel anxiety: Study

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Eating junk food like samosa, burger when stressed out can fuel anxiety: Study

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