Fast food confuses the immune system
Dr. Andrea Bannert has been with since 2013. The doctor of biology and medicine editor initially carried out research in microbiology and is the team's expert on the tiny things: bacteria, viruses, molecules and genes. She also works as a freelancer for Bayerischer Rundfunk and various science magazines and writes fantasy novels and children's stories.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The immune system reacts to a fatty and high-calorie diet alla McDonalds or frozen pizza as if it were fighting dangerous pathogens. This has fatal effects on health: the inflammatory reactions triggered promote diseases such as arteriosclerosis.
French fries, burgers and pizza, cola, chocolate bars and pudding particles: a mixture of a lot of fat, a lot of sugar and little fiber is not healthy. She quickly drives the pointer up on the scales. Above all, it also makes the blood vessels calcify faster. Researcher around Dr. Anette Christ and Prof. Joachim Schultze from the University of Bonn have now found out by which mechanism a fast food diet has such a damaging effect on the cardiovascular system.
Misguided combat force
The scientists fed mice very unhealthy food for a month. The rodents not only gained weight, they also developed a body-wide massive inflammatory reaction, similar to an infection by bacteria.
The scientists took a closer look at the mice's immune system and found that certain genes had been activated in precursor cells of the body police. Namely those that ensure the multiplication and maturation of immune cells. "Because of the unhealthy diet, the body recruits a huge, powerful fighting force," explains Schultze. But it is actually not needed at all.
The high-calorie diet created confusion in the rodent's immune system. This unhealthy alert continued after the mice were fed a high-fiber, healthy grain diet for an additional four weeks. The inflammation in the body receded, but the genetic activation of the immune system remained.
Poled on alert
In the case of infections, such a long-term alert makes sense: the body's defenses can then react more quickly to further intruders. Exactly this memory of the immune system was not triggered in the experimental mice by Christ and Schultze by pathogenic bacteria or viruses, but by the unhealthy diet.
Fast food sensor in mouse blood
The scientists even identified a “fast food sensor” in the mice, a so-called inflammasome, which triggers genetic activation. Christ and colleagues also found this sensor in human blood cells. Although this does not prove that the mechanism can be transferred one-to-one to humans, it does suggest that there are similar signaling pathways in the human body.
Frequent inflammation
The consequence of genetic activation: "The immune system then triggers inflammation even with small stimuli," says Christ. Once a disease-causing microorganism has invaded the body, inflammation is important in fighting the infection. But triggered without emergency, the many excess immune cells are deposited together with lipids in the vessels. There they form deposits that obstruct the blood flow. Arteriosclerotic constricted vessels are the result. This increases the risk of heart failure, heart attack and stroke, among other things.
According to the study authors, the study shows the dramatic consequences of malnutrition. The scientists are calling for the basics of healthy eating to be taught more to children and young people at school.
Tags: therapies prevention palliative medicine
