Saturated Fats from Dairy Change Gut Bacteria–and May Raise Risk for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 3:02PM The relationship between food and a gastro-intestinal disease might sound simple. But new research is revealing that what we put into our bodies can cause a cascade of complex interactions among various systems—from metabolism to the immune system—that keep us well or make us sick.
Milk fats have been identified as a culprit in the rapid and ongoing increase in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease.
And it appears that a popular component of the classic Western diet—saturated fats—has likely contributed to the increase in colitis cases.
Colitis, swelling of the large intestine that can cause pain and diarrhea, seems to run in families, but not everyone with the genetic risk gets it. So scientists have presumed that an environmental trigger initiates the disease. “Moving from elevated risk to the development of the disease seems to require a second event, which may be encountered because of our changing lifestyle,” according to Eugene Chang, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and co-author of a new study published online June 13 in Nature (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group).
Chang and his colleagues traced how saturated fats, particularly those from dairy, which are also present in many baked goods and processed foods, can change the composition of naturally harmless bacteria communities in the gut. As the balance of species shifts, it can trigger an immune response that results in inflammation and tissue damage.
This research breakthrough points to potential new treatments for IBD. “The balance between host and microbes can be altered back to a healthy state to prevent or treat these diseases,” lead researcher Eugene Chang told Scientific American. “In essence, the gut microbiome can be ‘reshaped’ in sustainable and predictable ways that restore a healthy relationship between host and microbes, without significantly affecting the lifestyles of individuals who are genetically prone to these diseases.”
So far, researchers don't know how to bring the gut microbiome back into balance, but it's a promising leap forward for a group of diseases that as yet have no cure.
Read more about saturated fats and colitis at scientificamerican.com
Kathy
In a related development this week, researchers announced they have produced the first comprehensive genetic map of the microbes that live in or on a healthy human body.
"It's likely this work will lead to new treatments for [the inflammatory bowel disorder] Crohn's disease, new treatments for diabetes and metabolic diseases, new treatments for even other diseases, like eczema," Michael Fischbach, a biologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who wasn't involved in the project told The Wall Street Journal.
Reader Comments (1)
An approach in which "the gut microbiome can be ‘reshaped’" addresses symptoms not causes- a lifestyle adaptation (choosing to reduce or eliminate dairy from the victim's diet) would be simpler and cheaper and is already available. Or have I missed something?