Maternal high-fat diet may affect kids' mental health

Researchers grouped a total of 65 female Japanese macaques into two groups, one given a high-fat diet and one a control diet during pregnancy. On the other hand, introducing the child to a healthy diet at an early age also failed to reverse the effect, the researchers said. Babies whose mothers consumed a high-fat diet during their pregnancy may be at an increased risk of developing mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, a study has warned. Further, exposure to a high-fat diet during gestation and early in development impaired the development of neurons containing serotonin -- a neurotransmitter that is critical in developing brains. For the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology, the team tested the effect of a maternal high-fat diet on non-human primates, tightly controlling their diet in a way that would be impossible in a human population.



Eating a high-fat diet during pregnancy can have adverse effects on kid's mental health, with an increased risk of developing mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. Researchers grouped a total of 65 female Japanese macaques into two groups, one given a high-fat diet and one a control diet during pregnancy. On the other hand, introducing the child to a healthy diet at an early age also failed to reverse the effect, the researchers said. Additionally, too much exposure to high-fat diet during pregnancy and impair the development of neurons containing serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter responsible for development of brain. The findings of the report show that an unhealthy diet not only affects the weight of the mother but also affects the child's mental development.

Mediterranean style diet may prevent dementia

The MIND diet takes the best brain foods of the Mediterranean diet and the famous salt-reducing DASH diet, and puts them together. Now you can addlowering your risk for dementia to the ever growing list of reasons to follow the Mediterranean diet or one of its dietary cousins. Additional evidenceA second study presented at the conference also examined the impact of the MIND diet. To prove the connection between diet and dementia risk, said McEvoy, researchers will need to move to scientifically controlled experiments. New research being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International conference in London this week found healthy older adults who followed the Mediterranean or the similar MIND diet lowered their risk of dementia by a third.


collected by :Lucy William