Consuming large amounts of saturated fat along with carbohydrates is associated with changes in gut bacteria, increased leakage from the intestines, and elevated levels of inflammation throughout the...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Eating too much fat and sugar changes the gut bacteria, which damages the gut lining and lets bacteria leak into the blood. This tricks the body’s immune system into thinking it’s under attack, so it turns on inflammation that spreads everywhere. This is why high-fat, high-sugar diets lead to...
Most probable mechanism
When someone eats a lot of fatty and sugary foods, the good bacteria in their gut die off and bad bacteria take over. This messes up the lining of the intestines, making it leaky. Bacteria and their toxins escape into the bloodstream, which causes stress in body cells and damages their energy factories (mitochondria). When these energy factories break down, they release their own DNA into the cell fluid. This DNA tricks the immune system into thinking there’s an infection, so it turns on powerful inflammation signals. These signals spread through the body, causing widespread inflammation.
High intake of saturated fats and carbohydrates alters the composition of gut microbiota, reducing beneficial species and promoting the growth of pro-inflammatory microbial strains
Dysbiosis disrupts the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier, increasing paracellular permeability and allowing microbial components such as lipopolysaccharide to translocate into the systemic circulation
Systemic exposure to microbial products induces mitochondrial stress in peripheral and central cells, reducing expression of mitochondrial maintenance proteins and impairing mitochondrial function
Damaged mitochondria release mitochondrial DNA into the cytosol, where it is recognized as a danger signal
Cytosolic mitochondrial DNA activates the AIM2 inflammasome and the cGAS-STING pathway, triggering the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and type I interferons
Inflammatory cytokines and interferons enter systemic circulation and activate immune cells throughout the body, sustaining a state of chronic low-grade inflammation
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
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