Eating too much fat doesn’t just lead to weight gain. It can also increase the risk of diseases like diabetes.
Scientists have long known this, but a recent study from MIT has uncovered more about how this happens deep inside the body, especially how cells and enzymes respond to high-fat diets.
This research also offers hope: some of the damage caused by these diets may be reduced or even reversed with the help of antioxidants.
The research was done on mice, but it offers important insights that could help us understand human health, too.
The scientists found that when mice were fed a high-fat diet, their bodies experienced hundreds of changes. Many of these changes involved enzymes—proteins in the body that help break down sugar, fat, and protein from food.
These enzymes stopped working properly, leading to problems with how the body handles insulin and harmful molecules known as reactive oxygen species. These molecules are a normal part of the body’s processes, but too many of them can damage cells.
Interestingly, the effects of the high-fat diet were worse in male mice than in female mice. The male mice gained more weight and developed higher insulin resistance. Their cells also produced more harmful molecules than they could manage.
In contrast, female mice seemed better able to adapt. They turned on certain pathways that helped them break down fat more efficiently, which seemed to protect them from some of the damage.
At the center of this research is a process called phosphorylation. This is when a small chemical group is added to a protein or enzyme, which can change how it works. Think of it like a light switch: phosphorylation can turn enzyme activity on or off.
The researchers discovered that many enzymes involved in metabolism—how the body uses food for energy—undergo phosphorylation. When the mice ate a high-fat diet, these enzymes were often “switched” in the wrong way, making them either too active or not active enough. This led to a chain reaction of problems throughout the body.
Some of the enzymes affected play a role in breaking down sugar and fat. Others help deal with reactive oxygen species. When these enzymes stop working well, the body can no longer keep a healthy balance.
This imbalance, called redox imbalance, is when the harmful molecules start to outnumber the protective ones. Over time, this can damage tissues and lead to chronic diseases like diabetes.
The study didn’t stop there. The scientists wanted to know if anything could be done to fix this problem. They gave some of the mice an antioxidant called BHA along with the high-fat diet. Antioxidants are substances that help protect the body from damage caused by reactive oxygen species.
The results were impressive: mice that received BHA gained less weight and did not develop insulin resistance, even though they were eating the same high-fat diet. Their cells seemed more balanced, and their enzymes started working more normally again.
This suggests that while a high-fat diet can push the body into an unhealthy state, antioxidants might help pull it back—or at least soften the damage. However, this doesn’t mean antioxidants are a magic cure. The mice still weren’t completely back to normal, but their health was much better than mice that didn’t get the antioxidant.
Dr. Tigist Tamir, who led the study while at MIT and is now a professor at the University of North Carolina, says this shows how complex and changeable our body systems are. Under stress, like a bad diet, the body can shift into a more harmful state. But with some help—like antioxidants—it might be able to shift again, into a state that’s less damaging and easier to manage.
In simple terms, this study shows that eating too much fat doesn’t just affect your waistline—it disrupts how your body works on a very deep level. These changes can lead to insulin resistance and increase your risk of disease. But it also shows that the body is flexible. With the right support, it might be possible to undo some of the harm.
In reviewing the study, it’s clear that it adds important new knowledge. First, it shows that enzymes involved in metabolism respond quickly and strongly to high-fat diets. Second, it highlights that these changes are not just random—they follow specific patterns and are more serious in males.
Third, it offers hope: giving antioxidants along with a high-fat diet helped protect the mice. This could lead to future studies in humans to test whether antioxidant treatments can help people who are overweight or at risk of diabetes.
Still, it’s important to remember that preventing the problem is always better than trying to fix it. While antioxidants may help, the best choice is to eat a balanced diet that keeps the body’s internal systems working smoothly in the first place.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about the harm of vitamin D deficiency you need to know, and does eating potatoes increase your blood pressure?
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The research findings can be found in Molecular Cell.
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