Interesting conclusions were drawn by German scientists who examined the reaction of mice to a diet rich in saturated fat, sugar and salt, but low in fiber, vitamins and minerals contained in vegetables and fruits. The organisms of the animals treated the fast food as a bacterial infection.
- Burgers, fries and other fast food are tempting with taste, but if eaten too often, they can have devastating effects on the body
- German doctors checked what reaction an unhealthy diet causes in the organisms of mice
- The animals’ immune system reacted to the fast food. He was put on alert, as if he were fighting an infection
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Reaching for pizza, fries or burgers too often can end badly for our body. The research we read about in Sciencealert.com shows that such a diet can be viewed as a potential threat by the cells of the body.
The immune system has memory
This is how the mice tested in 2018 responded to fast food. Their immune system responded by increasing the number of immune cells in their blood – as if they had been affected by a microbial infection.
— The unhealthy diet led to an unexpected increase in the number of immune cells in the blood of the mice, especially granulocytes and monocytes, said research team member Anette Christ of the University of Bonn in Germany in 2018.
- Also read: The doctor ate mainly junk food for a month. “The consequences are catastrophic”
These white blood cells showed scientists some genes that were activated by diet in mice. These are genes that contain progenitor cells, responsible for the regeneration of the body and increasing its resistance. These cells have a kind of memory – the immune system can “remember” how it fought infections before. In other words, once the body starts responding to a fast food diet, returning to a healthy diet may not be enough to reverse the changes completely, and this has some consequences for our overall health.
Also read: Healthy diet
The organism is on standby
When the mice in the study returned to their regular grain diet after a month, the inflammation had disappeared, but in the more sensitive those mice were ready to defend themselves against infection for a longer period of time.
— It was only recently discovered that the innate immune system has some form of memory Said one of the researchers, Eicke Latz of the University of Bonn. – After an infection, the body’s defenses remain in an alert state, so they can react faster to a new attack.
Doctors’ research has concluded that unhealthy eating can cause inflammation in the body, and even more so, it can increase the risk of certain diseases. So far, only mice have been studied for this, but these animals are not selected randomly, but because of their genetic similarity to humans. If the same kind of reaction takes place in the human body, this is it further evidence of the link between an unhealthy diet and health problems such as type II diabetes, obesity, and heart problems – scientists say.
Fast food sensor
Scientists also identified a ‘junk food sensor’ inside immune cells from a study of 120 mice. It appears to be a signaling system called the NLRP3 inflammasome, although how this works has not yet been studied.
This is another warning sign, scientists say. Even as the number of deadly infections and viruses decreases, we “balance” it with a poor diet and lack of exercise. So it’s worth paying attention to this, especially when it comes to children. Adults have the greatest influence on their food choices.
Also read:
- Fast food: is there a healthy fast food and is pizza also fast food?
- Do you want to start a diet? Check what research is worth doing beforehand
- Laboratory animals. Why do we need them?
The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.