一頓炸雞可以解決不開心了？日常生活中難免有壓力大的時(shí)候，遇到這種情況，很多人選擇吃一頓炸雞、炸薯?xiàng)l、炸串……這些食物真能讓人緩解壓力、釋放快樂嗎？錯(cuò)了！

最近研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，經(jīng)常吃這類食品并不會(huì)讓人真正放松和愉悅！相反，可能會(huì)增加負(fù)面情緒。

When we’re stressed out, many of us turn to junk food for solace. But new CU Boulder research suggests this strategy may backfire.
許多人在壓力大時(shí)會(huì)選擇用垃圾食品來安慰自己。但科羅拉多大學(xué)博爾德分校的一項(xiàng)新研究表明，這種策略可能適得其反。

The study found that in animals, a high-fat diet disrupts resident gut bacteria, alters behavior and, through a complex pathway connecting the gut to the brain, influences brain chemicals in ways that fuel anxiety.
研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，動(dòng)物實(shí)驗(yàn)顯示，高脂肪飲食可能破壞體內(nèi)的腸道菌群，并通過腸道和大腦之間的復(fù)雜通路，影響大腦中的化學(xué)物質(zhì)，從而加劇焦慮。

“Everyone knows that these are not healthy foods, but we tend to think about them strictly in terms of a little weight gain,” said lead author Christopher Lowry, a professor of integrative physiology at CU Boulder. “If you understand that they also impact your brain in a way that can promote anxiety, that makes the stakes even higher.”
該研究的主要作者、科羅拉多大學(xué)博爾德分校綜合生理學(xué)教授克里斯托弗·羅瑞稱，“大家都知道高脂肪食物不健康，但我們往往只是從控制體重的角度出發(fā)。如果你明白它們還會(huì)以加劇焦慮的方式影響你的大腦，那么其危害就更大了。”

In a previous study, the team found that rats fed a high-fat diet consisting primarily of saturated fat showed increases in neuroinflammation and anxiety-like behavior.
在之前的一項(xiàng)研究中，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，飼喂高脂肪飲食(主要由飽和脂肪組成)的大鼠表現(xiàn)出神經(jīng)炎癥和類似焦慮行為增加。

While evidence is mixed, some human studies have also shown that replacing a high-fat, high-sugar, ultra-processed diet with a healthier one can reduce depression and anxiety.
盡管證據(jù)不一，但一些人類研究也表明，用更健康的飲食替代高脂肪、高糖、超加工飲食可以減少抑郁和焦慮。

To better understand what may be driving the fat-anxiety connection, Lowry’s team divided male adolescent rats into two groups: Half got a standard diet of about 11% fat for nine weeks; the others got a high-fat diet of 45% fat, consisting mostly of saturated fat from animal products.
為了更好地理解是什么導(dǎo)致了脂肪焦慮的聯(lián)系，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)將處于“青春期”年齡段的大鼠分為兩組：其中一組大鼠連續(xù)9周被投喂約含11%脂肪的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)飲食，另一組則吃含45%脂肪的高脂肪飲食，這些脂肪主要是動(dòng)物產(chǎn)品中的飽和脂肪。

Throughout the study, the researchers collected fecal samples and assessed the animals’ microbiome, or gut bacteria. After nine weeks, the animals underwent behavioral tests.
整個(gè)研究過程中，研究人員收集實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠糞便樣本，評(píng)估它們的腸道細(xì)菌狀況。9周的飲食實(shí)驗(yàn)后，這些實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠接受了行為測(cè)試。

When compared to the control group, the group eating a high-fat diet, not surprisingly, gained weight. But the animals also showed significantly less diversity of gut bacteria.
結(jié)果顯示，與對(duì)照組相比，高脂飲食組的實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠不僅體重增加，其腸道細(xì)菌多樣性也明顯較低。

The high-fat diet group also showed higher expression of three genes (tph2, htr1a, and slc6a4) involved in production and signaling of the neurotransmitter serotonin—particularly in a region of the brainstem known as the dorsal raphe nucleus cDRD, which is associated with stress and anxiety.
高脂肪飲食組還顯示，大鼠體內(nèi)與神經(jīng)遞質(zhì)血清素的產(chǎn)生和信號(hào)傳遞有關(guān)的三個(gè)基因表達(dá)（tph2, htr1a, slc6a4）水平較高，且在腦干中縫背核的某一區(qū)域尤其明顯，該區(qū)域與壓力和焦慮有關(guān)。

While serotonin is often billed as a “feel-good brain chemical,” Lowry notes that certain subsets of serotonin neurons can, when activated, prompt anxiety-like responses in animals. Notably, heightened expression of tph2, or tryptophan hydroxylase, in the cDRD has been associated with mood disorders and suicide risk in humans.
盡管血清素通常被認(rèn)為是一種“讓人感覺良好的大腦化學(xué)物質(zhì)”，羅瑞指出，當(dāng)某些血清素神經(jīng)元亞群被激活時(shí)，可以在動(dòng)物中引發(fā)類似焦慮的反應(yīng)。值得注意的是，cDRD中tph2(或色氨酸羥化酶)的表達(dá)增加與人類的情緒障礙和自殺風(fēng)險(xiǎn)相關(guān)。

Lowry stresses that not all fats are bad, and that healthy fats like those found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds can be anti-inflammatory and good for the brain.
羅瑞強(qiáng)調(diào)，并非所有的脂肪都是有害的，魚類、橄欖油、堅(jiān)果和種子中的健康脂肪可以抗炎，對(duì)大腦有益。

But his research in animals suggests that exposure to an ultra-high-fat diet consisting of predominantly saturated fats, particularly at a young age, could both boost anxiety in the short-term and prime the brain to be more prone to it in the future.
但對(duì)動(dòng)物的研究表明，攝入以飽和脂肪為主的超高脂肪食物，尤其是在年輕的時(shí)候，既可以在短期內(nèi)加劇焦慮，也可以使大腦在未來更容易產(chǎn)生焦慮。

英文來源：科羅拉多大學(xué)博爾德分校官網(wǎng)
編輯：董靜
審校：陳丹妮 萬月英