26 Jan 2023 --- When following a high-fat diet for a short time period, the brain of rats adapts to react to the type of food that is ingested and balances the calorie intake by reducing the amount of food consumed, according to a US-based rodent model study published in The Journal of Physiology. However, it might increase food intake in the long run as a reaction in the brain could induce an insatiable appetite. “Calorie intake seems to be regulated in the short-term by astrocytes. We found that a brief exposure – three to five days – of a high-fat or calorie diet has the greatest effect on astrocytes, triggering the normal signaling pathway to control the stomach. Over time, astrocytes seem to desensitize to high-fat food,” says Dr. Kirsteen Browning, professor of neural and behavioral science at the Penn State College of Medicine, Pennsylvania, US.
