When high fat food can be good for you (New study suggests it can combat some inflammations)

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | October 10, 2005 | Roger Highfield

[Stoat]

When high fat food can be good for you

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 10/10/2005)

"Take two cheeseburgers and call me in the morning" may sound like far-fetched medical advice but it could soon be heard at doctors' surgeries.

A new study shows that high-fat foods can, at least in the gut, reduce inflammation. The work - to be published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine - also suggests that people who have fasted could be at risk of developing a potentially lethal inflammatory response after surgery or an injury.

Eating - particularly eating fat-rich foods - causes cells in the small intestine to produce a helpful hormone called cholecystokinin, or CCK, according to research by Drs Misha Luyer and Wim Buurman of Maastricht University in Holland.

They found that fat-induced CCK can dampen inflammation in the gut.

Rats fed a high-fat diet were protected against invasion with potentially lethal bacteria, unlike those fed a "healthy" low-fat diet.

CCK sends signals to the brain through the vagus nerve, the nerve that provides the electrical regulation for many internal organs, and which has also been recently shown to influence the immune system.

In response to CCK, vagus nerve endings in the gut release a messenger chemical, called acetylcholine, which can disable immune cells.

The authors suggest that triggering this fat-driven chain of events in patients might make major surgery safer by reducing inflammatory complications.

The doctors say that a body with a "food-deprived intestine" may be more vulnerable to a lethal inflammatory response, called septic shock, after a serious injury or infection.

Dr Luyer said that the work may have implications for other inflammatory diseases because immune cells called macrophages overproduce potentially lethal proteins called cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor, which also contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

[CajunConservative]

I agree with you about the hfcs. That stuff is in everything that is processed.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It may be the high fructose corn syrup, not the fat, that causes weight gain.

Almost certainly. And, unlike real sugar, eating HFCS doesn't seem to stem the craving for sweets at all.

The solution seems to be to eat natural fats and natural sugars (in moderation), and avoid trans-fats and HFCS - which is very hard since those two ingredients are in just about everything that comes pre-packaged.

[Stoat]

Very interesting. I sent a copy to my vasculitis doctor. After losing 54 pounds on a very low fat diet, I was attacked by vasculitis, an auto-immune disease that creates inflamation in one's blood vessels.

I'm very sorry to hear that this happened to you and I hope that you have experienced a full and rapid recovery.  Although your doctor may well find this study interesting, I hope that you won't be too disappointed if he/she doesn't immediately adopt it as part of his/her practice.  Doctors need to follow established medical protocols and would oftentimes place themselves in legal jeopardy if they were to deviate from that.  Unfortunately, it usually takes years and years of studies and tests before a new drug or procedure will become accepted as part of medical practice.

[Stoat]

Hooray cheeseburgers......................and beer!

I always knew there was a valid reason for my liking those things   :-)

[Stoat]

The brain also needs fat. Omega 3 oils are essential.

That's interesting....are those oils associated with 'fish oil' at all?  Just curious  :-)

[Celtic Conservative]

In the early '60's, I remember maybe one fat person for say, every 15-20 people. Now it's the other way round! People ate whatever they wanted to.

People also tended to die younger , and the reason they could eat anything was A. Everything they ate wasn't loaded with corn syrup, and B.Peoples lifestyles were more physical, which meant they burned off more calories on a regular basis.and C. people actually took time to prepare homemade meals out of fresh ingredients instead of something from a can or vending machine which has much less nutritional value. I believe that all of this has to do with the modern pace of life which is toooo fast!. Hurry, hurry, no time to eat right, but plenty of time to be sick later.

CC

[dread78645]

the brain also needs carbs

Like the rest of your body, your brain will preferentially metabolize glucose.
But if blood glucose is restricted, it run just fine on b-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetone.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

yup.

[Stoat]

yup.

Thank you!  I thought that I remembered that from Biology class   :-)

[CDHart]

"avoid trans-fats and HFCS - which is very hard since those two ingredients are in just about everything that comes pre-packaged."

I know. I read the ingredients on every cracker box in the grocery story, and Original Triscuits is the only cracker I found that didn't have those two items. I make a lot of stuff from scratch just to avoid them. Then I find out that the Yoplait yogurt that I put in my husband's lunch has HFCS, so I started making yogurt. But he doesn't like it much compared to Yoplait. One can only do so much!

Carolyn

[Uri’el-2012]

http://www.rosedalemetabolics.com/

fat good
protein good
carbohydrates unneeded

[leoncaruthers]

It really comes down more to the animal's diet. Most of the mammals you and I eat are fed grains to the near-exclusion of grasses. Cattle that eat grass have the same mix of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as your typical oceanic fish. The difference that gives us the "fish oils are healthy" idea is that the fish are eating their proper diet, the cattle aren't. Farm-raised fish (fed grain, just like farm-raised cattle) don't have omega 3's in anywhere near the abundance as fish that have grown up eating green plants.

[Stoat]

That's very interesting and helpful, thank you very much!
It makes sense.

[hispanarepublicana]

Hasn't cystic fibrosis also been treated with a high-fat, low carb diet for some time?

[editor-surveyor]

It has been commonly known for hundreds of years that low fat diets are extremely hazardous to your health, and longevity. This low fat nonsense is a product of the insanity of the last dozen years or so. Fats are our normal source of energy, and are irreplaceable for your brain and eyes. The anti-egg craze has led to a plague of Alzheimers and macular degeneration.

We use fat-free potato chips to kill rats, and they are remarkably effective.

[Diego1618]

fat good protein good carbohydrates unneeded

You betchum, Red Ryder!

[pops88]

MSG is also particularly bad and is in almost everything prepackaged. It is diguised under a number of different names. Researches found it makes lab animals fat and use it for that purpose.

[CajunConservative]

I forgot about that one. I get migraines from that stuff.

[Rytwyng]

the brain also needs carbs

Actually, it can run on ketones just fine. Many people in the Arctic for centuries have lived their whole post-weaning lives on diets with almost no carbs and been just fine.

[kstewskis]

.....when I was on Atkins, never once did I get indigestion or reflux.

Me too. I've been eating a high protein, low carb diet now for two years, and I might have had indigestion twice...after going off temporarily and eating tortilla chips.

I believe it.