Research Warns Processed Diets May Promote Chronic Infections

(Newswire.net — November 15, 2022) Orlando, FL — The scientific community has been carrying out studies to look into the impacts of processed food on various aspects of health. It is worth noting that their regular intake has long been associated with a myriad of health issues. 

Researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University carried out a study.

The findings of this interesting study were published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

It is worth noting that processed diets, which are often low in fiber, may initially lessen the incidence of foodborne infectious diseases like E. coli infections. further, they have the potential to increase the rates of diseases characterized by low-grade chronic infection and inflammation like diabetes.

The research utilized mouse subjects to investigate on how shifting from a grain-based diet to a highly processed, high-fat Western-style diet affects infection with the pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. It is worth noting that Citrobacter rodentium resembles Escherichia coli (E. coli) infections in humans.

Health experts have long revealed that the gut microbiota, which pertains to the microorganisms living in the intestine, offers a number of benefits. These include offering protection to a host from infections caused by bacterial pathogens. 

There is a variety of environmental factors found to be highly influential to microorganisms, such as diet. These microorganisms also heavily depend on complex carbohydrates such as fiber.

It is worth noting that the Western-style diet actually consists of high amounts of red meat, processed food, high-fat dairy products, high-sugar foods, and pre-packaged foods. They also lack fiber, which is needed to support gut microbiota.

“We observed that feeding mice a Western-style diet, rather than standard rodent grain-based chow, altered the dynamics of Citrobacter infection, reducing initial colonization and inflammation, which was surprising,” said Dr. Andrew Gewirtz, senior co-author of the study and professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences. 

“However, mice consuming the Western-style diet frequently developed a persistent infection that was associated with low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance.”

Multiple research studies have revealed that unhealthy diets are detrimental to health. There have been many studies revealing that the consumption of healthy foods is essential for disease protection. 

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