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Earlier research has suggested that such a diet helps weight loss and controls blood sugar levels, but new research published in the journal Diabetic Care shows that high fat intake encourages a rise in the amount of blood endotoxins—bacterial fragments that provoke inflammation. Diabetic patients show a particularly enhanced reaction to the inflammation.

For diabetics, the diet focus is usually on sugar content because patients can’t regulate their insulin and blood sugar levels and mostly require medication to do so, says Alison Harte, post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Warwick.

“Fat content, whilst associated with weight gain, does not affect blood sugar levels. However, our studies show that meals with high fat content lead to a large amount of gut-derived bacteria in the blood and this was much higher in diabetic patients.

“Evidence suggests this is due to a ‘leaky gut’ which is an increased permeability of the gut lining that seems to allow a greater transfer of bacterial fragments from the intestine into the blood.

“This creates conditions within the body that trigger inflammatory reactions which ultimately can cause a number of conditions such as heart disease and will help to explain further why diabetics are more prone to developing heart problems, weight gain, and cardiovascular conditions.

“As many as 80 percent of people with Type 2 Diabetes die from heart disease, so our research will help to shed light on why this happens and for our researchers to develop new preventative measures to protect patients.

“As for dietary advice, we would say that a balanced diet with exercise is the way forward as opposed to seeking quick weight loss results from high fat, low carb diets, which may have longer-term health implications.”

The research was presented at the Society for Endocrinology BES meeting on March 20 in Harrogate, England.

More news from University of Warwick: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/