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Gut Health Canvas: Memory

How are the gut and memory related?

Introducing our Gut Health Canvas

In this series, we dive into the links between the gut and various aspects of our mental and physical health.

Mental Health: Memory

How are the gut and memory related?

  •  👨 A review by Tooley KL (2020) found that an abundance of Actinobacteria was associated with better motor speed and attention, whereas increased numbers of Prevotella resulted in increased reaction time and poorer attention.
  • 👨In the same review, Tooley also found that in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 12 weeks of intervention with Lactobacillus plantarum improved verbal learning and memory as measured by the international shopping list memory test, in moderately stressed adults.
  • 🐭 In a study by Mao et al. (2020), lactobacillus was correlated with better memory retention, and inoculating germ-free mice with Lactobacillus species improved their memory compared to controls. Treatment with a Lactobacillus metabolite, lactate, also boosted memory on its own.
  • Although more research is needed to translate these findings to humans, the results provide evidence for a link between Lactobacillus species and memory, opening new avenues for treating memory impairment disorders.

Your nutrition affects memory

  • A high-fat diet has adverse effects on cognition: High amounts of saturated fatty acids were associated with worse cognitive and verbal memory trajectories.
  • Consumption of a high-fat diet stimulates the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory, to produce a neuro-inflammatory response to even a mild immune challenge, resulting in memory deficits.
  • A greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is also associated with lesser risks of cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer disease.

 

👨 Research done in humans
🐭 Research done in mice


Sources:
Tooley KL 2020
Mao et al. 2020
Puri et al. 2023
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