Saturated milk fats could be cause of colitis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Saturated milk fats in the modern Western diet could be responsible for gut problems such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colitis. The fats – found in processed foods and confectionary – upset the bacteria in the gut, which can trigger a range of immune disorders.
Health problems can begin within six months of eating a diet that is high in saturated milk fats, say researchers from the University of Chicago.
The diet appears to encourage the proliferation of the microbe B.wadsworthia in the gut, which is associated with appendicitis, and other intestinal inflammatory disorders such as IBD and colitis.
However, the reaction happens more in people who have a genetic predisposition, say the researchers.
(Source: Nature, 2012; doi: 10.1038/nature11225).