High-fat diets and their impact on health
High-fat diets are ingredients containing a lot of fats, especially saturated fats (animal or tropical oils). High-fat diets are unstable for those with arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity or stroke and hypertension. A food plan high in saturated fats and transfats (oils that have been hydrogenated to flip them into semi-hard fats leads to elevated degrees of cholesterol (Madamanchi, 2013).
Connection between blood lipid levels and cardiovascular disease
A significant quantity of blood lipid levels has a high correlation with the danger of coronary artery disease, heart attack and coronary loss of life. In turn, abnormal blood lipids are related to what you eat. Saturated fat is found in animal products whilst hydrogenated fat is found in processed food, these two raise cholesterol levels in the blood, which in turn can lead to atherosclerosis. It is important to know that if your total fat intake is more than 37% of your calories, you increase your risk of cardiovascular disease (Govindarajan, 2008).
The risk of heart disease with high-fat diets
The most serious risk of high-fat diets is heart disease. High-fat diets, in general, recommend foods high in saturated fats like beef and dark meat poultry (Govindarajan, 2008). According to the American Heart Association, a diet high in saturated fat can raise your cholesterol, increasing your risk of heart disease. The AHA recommends limiting your intake to between 25-35% of total calories with only 7% coming by way of saturated fats.
High-fat diets and colon cancer risk
The fact that the food we eat affects our risk for various diseases is not new, science has revealed that what we eat is connected to everything from diabetes to dementia to cancer. Colon cancer is mainly associated with what we put in our bodies and to body weight. A recent study in Nature discovers more about why a high-fat diet is linked to colon cancer risk; it has to do with how stem cells in the gut accrue little damage over time (Govindarajan, 2008).
Understanding the impact of a high-fat diet on stem cells
Research to understand how long-term high-fat diet impacted the biology of stem cells, and how such changes that occur in stem cells influenced tumor initiation in the intestine was carried out by Omer Yilmaz, a study author. The mice which fed on a diet that was 60% fat gained more weight than their equals who took a diet of regular lab chow. The mice eating high-fat diet also developed more tumors in their intestines (Madamanchi, 2013).
The researcher found that the intestinal stem cells proliferated in the obese mice, the cells were also able to operate independently, they discovered that the stem cells, progenitor cells, lived much longer in the obese mice, and mimicked the behavior of stem cell. The more cells accumulate genetic mutations; the more likely cancer is to form (Madamanchi, 2013). The fact that a high cell-fat can trigger these changes in intestinal cell function says a lot. On a high-fat diet, these non-stem cells acquire the properties of stem cells so that when they are transformed, they become tumorigenic.
Based on similarities between the guts of mice and men, and the known correlation between dietary intake and cancer in humans, chances are they're quite applicable. Perhaps a better message to keep in mind is that we should choose our fats wisely.
Work cited:
Govindarajan, G., Alpert M. & Tejwani L, Endocrine and metabolic effects of fat: cardiovascular implications. Am J Med. 2008. Print.
Madamanchi, N., & Runge M. S. Redox signaling in cardiovascular health and disease. Free Radic Biol Med. 2013. Print.
