Scientists from the University and the University Hospital Basel found every meal we eat could trigger inflammation in the body.
When we eat, we do not just take in nutrients – we also consume a significant quantity of bacteria.
The body is faced with the challenge of simultaneously distributing the ingested glucose and fighting these bacteria.
This triggers an inflammatory response that activates the immune systems of healthy individuals and has a protective effect.
In overweight individuals, however, this inflammatory response fails so dramatically that it can lead to diabetes.
The research is published in Nature Immunology.
It is well known that type 2 diabetes (or adult-onset diabetes) leads to chronic inflammation with a range of negative impacts.
A number of clinical studies have therefore treated diabetes by impeding the over-production of a substance involved in this process, Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta).
In diabetes patients, this messenger substance triggers chronic inflammation and causes insulin-producing beta cells to die off.
This inflammation does have some positive aspects, however. In healthy individuals, short-term inflammatory responses play an important role in sugar uptake and the activation of the immune system.
In the study, the team showed that the number of macrophages (a type of immune cell) around the intestines increases during meal times.
These so-called “scavenger cells” produce the messenger substance IL-1beta in varying amounts, depending on the concentration of glucose in the blood.
This, in turn, stimulates insulin production in pancreatic beta cells. The insulin then causes the macrophages to increase IL-1beta production.
Insulin and IL-1beta work together to regulate blood sugar levels, while the messenger substance IL-1beta ensures that the immune system is supplied with glucose and thus remains active.
According to the researchers, this mechanism of the metabolism and immune system is dependent on the bacteria and nutrients that are ingested during meals.
With sufficient nutrients, the immune system is able to adequately combat foreign bacteria.
Conversely, when there is a lack of nutrients, the few remaining calories must be conserved for important life functions at the expense of an immune response.
This may go some way towards explaining why infectious diseases occur more frequently in times of famine.
If you care about inflammation, please read studies about the cause of severe inflammation in COVID-19, and inflammation durg could help prevent COVID-19 deaths.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about dieting method that can effectively reduce inflammation, and results showing that inflammation may actually slow down cognitive decline in older people.
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