Almost all people experience some kind of inflammation directly after eating food, because of the impact of digesting and metabolizing the fat and carbohydrates in our food.
In a study from King’s College London and elsewhere, scientists found food-induced inflammation can increase the predicted risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases like heart disease.
The study looked at postprandial inflammation. Researchers found that inflammation, triggered by food, varies widely between people.
The researchers were able to identify for the first time the relative influence of blood sugar and blood fat levels on inflammation, demonstrating a stronger link with blood fat responses than blood sugar.
These findings highlight the potential for personalized strategies to reduce chronic inflammation in preventative health.
In the study, the team invited 1,002 healthy adults taking part in the PREDICT research program to come into the team’s research clinic for a day.
They were all given two standardized meals to eat, each containing precise amounts of fat, carbohydrate, fiber, and protein: breakfast (a muffin and a milkshake) and lunch four hours later (a muffin).
The researchers took blood samples from the participants before the breakfast meal and at nine points throughout the day.
These were then analyzed to measure the levels of blood fat and sugar at different timepoints, along with levels of two markers of inflammation, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and Glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA).
The team found people with more body fat and greater body mass index (BMI) were more likely to have higher levels of inflammation after eating.
This supports current evidence that the management of obesity will reduce the chronic inflammatory burden.
Levels of inflammation also tended to be higher in males than females, and in older participants than younger ones.
The team says previous results showed that the combination of microbes living in our guts, known as the gut microbiome, is closely linked to how we respond to food, particularly fat.
They also found that microbiome composition is strongly associated with GlycA levels, opening the door to reducing food-related inflammation and improving health by manipulating the microbiome.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and flu and COVID vaccines may increase heart disease risk.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that artificial sweeteners in food are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, and results showing who have the lowest heart disease and stroke risks.
The study was conducted by Dr. Sarah Berry et al and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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