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taylorvich [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-mediterranean-diet-linked-memory-gut.html [medicalxpress.com]

A new Tulane University study suggests the Mediterranean diet's brain-boosting benefits may work by changing the balance of bacteria in the gut.

In a study published in Gut Microbes Reports, researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine found that subjects following a Mediterranean diet developed distinctly different gut bacteria patterns compared to those eating a typical Western diet. These bacterial changes correlated with better memory and cognitive performance.

"We've known that what we eat affects brain function, but this study explores how that could be happening," said lead author Rebecca Solch-Ottaiano, Ph.D., neurology research instructor at Tulane's Clinical Neuroscience Research Center. "Our findings suggest that dietary choices can influence cognitive performance by reshaping the gut microbiome."

The study found that rats fed a Mediterranean-style diet rich in olive oil, fish and fiber over 14 weeks showed increases in four beneficial types of gut bacteria and decreases in five others compared to rats eating a Western diet high in saturated fats. These bacterial changes were linked to improved performance on maze challenges designed to test memory and learning.

Specifically, higher levels of bacteria such as Candidatus Saccharimonas were associated with better cognitive performance, while increased levels of other bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, correlated with poorer memory function.

The Mediterranean diet group also showed better cognitive flexibility—the ability to adapt to new information—and improved working memory compared to the Western diet group. They maintained lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol.

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