Chatting with the pros at ZOE Health for their top podcast, Professor Philip Calder shared insights into how our diets might be ramping up gut inflammation, potentially triggering a host of dire health issues and metabolic problems from heart disease and diabetes to obesity and autoimmune diseases.
He pointed out that many staples of the modern diet, particularly those high in simple sugars and saturated fats, could be exacerbating this issue. Simple sugars pop up in everything from table sugar and honey to fruit juices and syrups, while saturated fats are found in various foods including certain meats, baked treats, and even coconut oil.
(
ZOE)
The professor highlighted that avoiding saturated fats is crucial for reducing inflammation, mentioning that most experiments use a high-fat diet to provoke an inflammatory reaction. But there’s good news, as he added: “You’ll be relieved to know there are a lot of things that can mitigate this response. “
“If you replace saturated fat with extra virgin olive oil, for example, you don’t get such a big response. If you include nuts and vitamin C, you don’t get such a big response. If you include omega-3 Fatty acids in the meal, you don’t get such a big response.”
(
GETTY)
The University of Southampton’s Professor of Nutritional Immunology has shed light on how inflammation is the immune system’s reaction to harm, whether from injury, illness, or environmental factors. However, when this response goes awry, it can wreak havoc within the body, leading to issues like rheumatoid arthritis, where the immune system wrongly targets healthy joint tissue, or type 1 diabetes, which may be sparked by a viral infection and mistakenly causes the immune system to attack the pancreas.
On the podcast, the professor extolled the virtues of Omega-3s for their additional health perks, including cutting the risk of heart disease and dementia by soothing inflammation. He also advocated for an anti-inflammatory diet rich in “fruits, vegetables and berries” and suggested products that enhance the gut microbiome, which can further help curb inflammation in the gut.