According to Hippocrates “The father of modern medicine” all the disease begins in the gut. Numerous studies in the past decades have demonstrated links between gut health, mental health, immune system, autoimmune diseases, skin conditions and cancer. A balanced gut will have very less complications while processing food and also eliminating waste. The gut microbiota is nowadays considered a key feature to contribute to regulation of host health. Gut microbiota deviations are also linked with many diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hepatic steatosis, intestinal bowel diseases (IBDs) and several types of cancer. Thus it suggests that various pathways which are involved in glucose metabolism, energy, lipid and immunity are affected.1
We can know about the connection between your gut and disease risk.
Gut health and risk of diseases
Gut bacteria and the integrity of the gut lining strongly can affect one’s health. According to literature, undesirable products such as endotoxins can sometimes leak through your entire bloodstream and your gut linings.2 our immune system identifies these foreign bodies and then attacks them which then results in a chronic inflammation. Some hypothesis states that this diet-induced inflammation may trigger leptin resistance and insulin levels. Inflammation can be mostly linked to very serious conditions.
The truth is not all diseases begins in the gut, many metabolic conditions are hypothesized to be influenced or caused by chronic gut inflammations.
Effects of Chronic Inflammation
Inflammation is your immune system’s response to foreign toxins, invaders or any cell injury. Its purpose is to help your body to attack all the unwanted invaders and begin the repair of damaged structures. Acute/short-term inflammation, such as bug bites or any injury, is considered a good thing. Without it, pathogens like viruses and bacteria could easily take over one’s body, causing sickness or even death.
Another type of inflammation such as systemic inflammation or chronic, low-grade may be harmful as its long term, and also affects the whole body and inappropriately attacks your body’s cells. Chronic, systemic inflammation is now believed to be one of the most leading drivers of some of the world’s most serious conditions. These also include type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and numerous others. Yet the exact causes of chronic inflammation are still unknown.
Leaky Gut and Endotoxins
The gut is a house of trillions of bacteria they are collectively known as your gut flora.1 some of these bacteria are beneficial, others are not. As a result, the number and composition of your gut bacteria can greatly affect both your physical and mental health. The cell walls of some of the bacteria are gram negative bacteria and it contains lipopolysaccharides (LPS), large molecules also known as endotoxins. These substances can also cause an immune reaction in animals. One suffering from acute bacterial infection, can experience muscle pains, fever, depression and even septic shock. These substances may also leak from the gut into the bloodstream either right after meals or constantly.3
Endotoxins may either be carried into blood circulation along with the dietary fats or may leak past the tight junctions that prevent unwanted substances from getting across your gut lining. When this process takes place all the immune cells are activated.
Though the amounts are too small to cause symptoms of an infection like fever, they are high enough to stimulate chronic inflammation that causes issues over time. Increased gut permeability or leaky gut may be the key mechanism behind every diet-induced chronic inflammation. When endotoxin levels in blood increase to levels that are around 2-3 times higher compared to normal, this condition is known as metabolic endotoxemia.
Unhealthy Diet and Endotoxemia4
Endotoxemia an emerging feature of metabolic syndrome, is believed to contribute to insulin resistance of the syndrome and chronic low grade inflammatory status. Studies on endotoxemia inject endotoxins into the bloodstreams of humans and animals, which has shown to cause a rapid onset of insulin resistance which is a key feature of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
It can also lead to an immediate increase in inflammatory markers, which indicates an inflammatory response has been activated. The outcome of the studies indicates that an unhealthy diet may cause elevated endotoxin levels. Animal studies suggest that long term, high-fiber diet may also cause endotoxemia as well as insulin resistance, metabolic diseases, obesity and inflammation as a result.
Similarly, in a 1-month human study in 8 healthy people, a western diet led to a 71% increase in blood endotoxin levels, while levels decreased by 31 % in people on a low-fat diet. Other studies also observed that endotoxin levels increased after consumption of unhealthy meals. This new finding demonstrates that metabolic endotoxemia dysregulates the inflammatory tone and triggers body weight gain and diabetes.5
The Bottom Line
Many chronic metabolic diseases are mostly believed to begin in the gut, and long-term inflammation is thought to be a driving force. Inflammation that are caused by bacterial endotoxins may be a missing link between unhealthy obesity, diet and chronic metabolic diseases. Chronic inflammations are complex and scientists are just beginning to expose how diet and inflammation may be connected. The general healthfulness of your diet and lifestyle affects your risk of chronic conditions and inflammation linked to it, rather than a single dietary cause.
Thus, one should keep yourself and gut healthy, it becomes important to focus on overall healthy lifestyle with plenty of good sleep, exercise and a diet based on real foods, plenty of fibers and few processed junk foods.
References-
- Vajro P, Paolella G, Fasano A. Microbiota and gut-liver axis: a mini-review on their influences on obesity and obesity related liver disease. Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition. 2013 May;56(5):461.
- de Vos WM, Tilg H, Van Hul M, Cani PD. Gut microbiome and health: Mechanistic insights. Gut. 2022 May 1;71(5):1020-32.
- Marchesi JR, Adams DH, Fava F, Hermes GD, Hirschfield GM, Hold G, Quraishi MN, Kinross J, Smidt H, Tuohy KM, Thomas LV. The gut microbiota and host health: a new clinical frontier. Gut. 2016 Feb 1;65(2):330-9.
- Jialal I, Rajamani U. Endotoxemia of metabolic syndrome: a pivotal mediator of meta-inflammation. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. 2014 Nov 1;12(9):454-6.
- Cani PD, Amar J, Iglesias MA, Poggi M, Knauf C, Bastelica D, Neyrinck AM, Fava F, Tuohy KM, Chabo C, Waget A. Metabolic endotoxemia initiates obesity and insulin resistance. Diabetes. 2007 Jul 1;56(7):1761-72.
