A diet too rich in fatdisrupts the sense of smell of mice according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Journal of Neuroscience.
Researchers at the University of Florida have taught rodents to recognize certain smells. They then separated their “patients” into two teams. The control group continued to eat a healthy diet, the other received a diet rich in fat. Then, the scientists again tested the smell of the mice based on their diet.
Malnourished mice have lost their sense of smell
The high-fat diet altered the olfactory capacities of rodents, which could no longer identify previously learned smells.
“In addition, when mice accustomed to junk food returned to a normal diet, they regained normal weight and good blood tests, but they nevertheless displayed reduced olfactory capacities,” explains Professor Debra Ann Fadool. “And, the mice exposed to a very rich diet had only 50% of neurons capable of handling the olfactory signals.”
Food is linked to smell. Indeed, the attraction to certain foods is triggered by the smell they emit. A recent study by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) indeed revealed that the olfactory system controls our food intake. And that understanding this mechanism could help better manage obesity. “In people with anorexia or obesity, this mechanism could be disturbed and the sensitivity to odors more or less strong, assumed the researchers.” The elucidation of the biological mechanism will allow better management of this type of pathologies in the long term “, the scientists explained.
“This study may open new voices on research on obesity. I will also duplicate it with food. sweet, to understand their effects on smell and integrate physical exercise “concludes Nicolas Thiebaud, doctor at the University of Florida and co-author of the study.
