Brain Food: Why What We Eat Early Matters

Eating high-fat, high-sugar foods in childhood may have lasting effects on how the brain controls eating habits later in life, according to new research from APC Microbiome Ireland, a Research Ireland centre at UCC.

Published in Nature Communications, the study found that early exposure to unhealthy diets can change brain pathways linked to appetite and eating habits, even if a person later returns to a healthier diet and normal body weight.

The research also points to a possible solution. Supporting the gut microbiome may help counter these long-term effects. Researchers found that a beneficial gut bacterium, Bifidobacterium longum APC1472, along with prebiotic fibres found in foods such as onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus and bananas, could help support healthier eating behaviours over time.

"Crucially, our findings show that targeting the gut microbiota can mitigate the long-term effects of an unhealthy early-life diet on later feeding behaviour. Supporting the gut microbiota from birth helps maintain healthier food-related behaviours into later life,” says Dr Harriet Schellekens, lead investigator of the study.