*Experts say a diet of sugary and fatty foods may make consumers more susceptible to intestinal infections and increase the likelihood of gut inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

Recent studies have highlighted the ways that a Western diet 鈹� one that contains large amounts of fats and sugars 鈹� can negatively impact consumers鈥� health.

Currently, experts from Washington University School of Medicine have also explored the ways that this type of diet can negatively affect gut inflammation in consumers.

Researchers found that a Western diet may make consumers more susceptible to intestinal infections and increase the likelihood of gut inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease.

Researcher Dr. Ta-Chiant Lu said: 鈥淚nflammatory bowel disease has historically been a problem primarily in Western countries such as the U.S., but it鈥檚 becoming more common globally as more and more people adopt Western lifestyles.

鈥淥ur research showed that long-term consumption of a Western-style diet high in fat and sugar impairs the function of immune cells in the gut in ways that could promote inflammatory bowel disease or increase the risk of intestinal infections.鈥�

In regard to diet and its impact on gut health in the research, the experts conducted two studies, one on humans and one on mice , in order to determine what impact diet had on overall gut health.

In both instances, the team analysed Paneth cells, which are immune cells that regulate gut inflammation.

Abnormalities in these cells typically indicate inflammatory bowel disease.

The team enrolled 400 people in one part of the study, some of whom had gut health issues and others who did not.

The study also found that participants with high body mass indices (BMIs), which the researchers attributed to diets high in sugars and fats, were more likely to have markers of inflammatory bowel disease, including unhealthy Paneth cells.

However, the researchers also analysed mice and learned that it wasn鈥檛 just obesity that contributed to issues with gut health — it also had to do with what was specifically being eaten.

The team analysed Paneth cells from mice prone to obesity, and the reports came back healthy.

It wasn鈥檛 until the researchers gave the mice a traditional Western diet that their Paneth cells changed and revealed gut abnormalities.

After four weeks on this diet, the mice were more prone to intestinal infections and inflammatory bowel disease.

Following that experiment, the researchers switched the mice back to a healthier diet and the results changed.

Eating less sugary and fat-dense foods improved the mice鈥檚 gut health.

Dr. Liu further stated: 鈥淥besity wasn鈥檛 the problem, per se.

鈥淓ating too much of a healthy diet didn鈥檛 affect the Paneth cells. It was the high-fat, high-sugar diet that was the problem.鈥�

Meanwhile, the researchers say there are still questions about whether humans can change the course of their gut health by changing their diets.

While adopting a healthier lifestyle certainly comes with benefits, more work needs to be done to determine the impact a change in diet can have on overall gut health.

Dr. Liu added: 鈥淭his was a short-term experiment, just eight weeks.

鈥淚n people, obesity doesn鈥檛 occur overnight or even in eight weeks. People have a suboptimal lifestyle for 20, 30 years before they become obese.

鈥淚t鈥檚 possible that if you have a Western diet for so long, you cross a point of no return and your Paneth cells don鈥檛 recover even if you change your diet.

鈥淲e鈥檇 need to do more research before we can say whether this process is reversible in people.鈥�