In recent days, many articles have revealed that for more than 50 years, the sugar lobby has wrongly accused fat of being the sole cause of cardiovascular disease. So, fat is completely harmless? Far from there. A study by Inserm (the National Institute of Health and Medical Research) looked at the impact of a diet that is too fatty on the intestinal flora and the verdict is clear:eating too fat leads to an imbalance and has an impact on health.
To check the impact of a high-fat diet on the gut microbiota (=the bacteria naturally present in the gut, which play a role in digestion and are also involved in diseases such as type 2 diabetes or obesity), the researchers observed mice. Some of them had a classic diet, while others received a diet composed of 70% lipids. Verdict? After a month of this special diet, the researchers observed changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota, with the presence in large numbers of certain bacteria, while the number of certain others decreased (some even disappeared completely). The consequence of these changes? The wall of the intestine then becomes permeable, the layer of mucus that protects it being reduced, and there is a risk of seeing inflammatory substances released into the blood.
Scientists now want to understand the implication of these observations in certain dietary imbalances. There is good news, however:when they resumed a balanced diet, everything was back to normal for the mice after a month. Whew!
