High fat diets may contribute to chronic pain, study shows – Medical News Today

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A study found that a high fat diet may cause pain responses to non-painful stimuli, an effect seen in obesity and diabetes. Vince Brophy/Getty Images

  • High body fat diets are popular in developed countries like the United States but may give rise to health problems, such as inflammation.
  • Researchers are still working to understand the relationship between high fat diets, swelling, and chronic pain.
  • A​ recent study found that individuals who followed a high fat diet experienced discomfort responses to non-painful stimuli, a similar effect that’s seen in people with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Diet is a crucial component of health. Researchers are usually constantly uncovering new data about how diet influences the body. One area of interest is exactly how high fat diets lead to pain plus inflammatory reactions .

A​ recent study published in scientific reports explored how high fat diet programs induced pain responses within mice in order to non-painful stimuli.

The study results indicate that higher fat diet plans could induce pain replies to non-painful stimuli, an identical effect that may be seen in individuals with obesity or type 2 diabetes .

The findings raise caution about high fat diets and how they may help with chronic pain .

People’s diet programs require at least some fat to ensure the body functions optimally.

Lipids allow the body to store energy and help with protection and cell structure. However , too much fat can lead in order to potential issues. For example , consuming excess saturated body fat may increase the risk of heart disease.

While dietary recommendations are generally geared toward healthier food choices, many people are still consuming large levels of saturated fat and following high body fat diet trends, particularly inside the Usa States.

Researchers continue to be working to be familiar with full impact associated with high fat diets and exactly how these diet plans may contribute to the body’s response in order to pain.

Laura Simmons , RDN, the registered dietitian nutritionist with RET Physical Therapy & Healthcare Specialists, WA, not involved in the research, noted to Medical News Today :

“We already know that high-fat diets can be inflammatory to our systems due to the particular increase in the inflammatory markers, embrace plaque formation in arteries, and deposits of fat if the high-fat diet is contributing in order to a caloric surplus. We have not really had a great understanding of the relationship between irritation and persistent pain, plus specifically the particular role associated with food. ”

Researchers of the current study were interested in the connection between high fat diets and the particular body’s discomfort response.

They noted that previous research demonstrated that higher fat diet programs can increase pain sensitivity. But they wanted to see if high body fat diets could induce a pain response to non-painful stimuli.

Specifically, researchers wondered whether a problem response could happen within cases with no diabetes or even obesity involved.

“Previous studies have looked at the relationship of high fat diet plans with mice who also were obese or had diabetes, yet this current study took out further variables and was able to start identifying the particular direct connection of diet plan on chronic pain, ” Simmons said.

Researchers conducted the study using groups of rodents that were fed different diets. They fed a few mice the standard chow diet, while others received a higher fat diet over 8 weeks. In this timeframe, the mice on the high fat diet plan did not develop being overweight or hyperglycemia .

The mice who received the particular high fat diet had a much higher mechanical allodynia response. Allodynia involves experiencing pain in response in order to non-painful stimuli.

“This research indicates you don’t need obesity to trigger pain; you don’t need diabetes; you do not need a pathology or injury at all, ” study author Michael Burton , Ph. D., assistant professor of cellular and molecular neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas, explained within a press release .

“Eating a high fat diet for a short period of time is enough — a diet similar to what almost all of us in the U. S. eat at some point, ” he continued.

The research opens up further discussion about the influence of diet plan on discomfort response. Its main limitation is that it was the study using mice, so a limited amount of the data applies in order to humans.

“We must be cautious to not jump to conclusions when studies are done on animals, ” Simmons noted. “However, this study does show that additional research should be done to better understand how diets like a high body fat diet can easily influence persistent pain within humans. ”

Dr . Sameer Murali , obesity medicine specialist along with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann, TX, not included in this particular study, mentioned a few areas for continued study:

“Additional studies measuring changes in the microbiome, inflammatory guns, and pain, based on nutritional differences that compare established surrogates with regard to a Western diet, a whole food plant-based diet, and a control diet, could assist further clarify the relationship among dietary composition and discomfort [and] inflammation. While this study is a step in the right direction, there are several gaps in translating the findings from rodents to humans in order to derive any important clinical implications. ”

As evidence builds about the particular potentially harmful effects of great fat diet programs, those subsequent these eating patterns may wish to exercise extreme caution.

It’s generally a good idea to work with healthcare professionals plus nutrition experts to develop a diet plan that best suits your needs, especially if you have a medical condition.

As the rule associated with thumb regarding fat intake, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 , recommends that less than 10% of calorie consumption should come from saturated fats.

Overall, a moderate approach to fat consumption may be recommended.

“As with most things within nutrition, any kind of extreme is going to have the consequence — very low fat diets might result in excess carbohydrate intake and inadequate absorption associated with fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K), which also can lead to health complications, ” Simmons explained.

“There should be further analysis on acceptable ranges of fat consumption that do not increase systemic swelling (increase in chronic pain or elevating saturated excess fat intake) while also not really going in order to a very low fat diet plan that can result in malabsorption of nutritional vitamins or hormone disruption. ”

– Laura Simmons, RDN

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