A new study from the University of Bonn in Germany demonstrates once again that fast food, as convenient as it is, harms our health. This time the researchers looked not at the nutritional impact but at the effect of this diet rich in lipids and carbohydrates and low in fiber on epigenetics. Understand: the study of changes in gene activity induced by the wider environment, without any modification of the DNA sequence. To observe the possible how our genes react to fast food, the German team fed mice fast food-like foods.
Verdict: the excessive intake of fat and sugar in the body was perceived as an infection. The immune system’s defenses reacted aggressively over the long term by activating certain genes.
The body’s defenses on high alert against junk food
The unbalanced diet has the effect of putting the immune cells in a state of vigilance of “fast food sensors”, summarizes Professor Eicke Latz, who led the work, and quoted by AFP. Problem, this mechanism of overprotection and the associated excessive inflammatory responses increase the risk of developing cardiovascular illnessesand Type 2 diabetes.
A good reason to drastically limit or even shun fast food.
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