Study finds correlation between high-fat Western diet and pain
Advanced Back and Neck Care • May 23, 2024
The Western diet is associated with many ills, and now chronic pain may be added to the list.
Fats provide important health benefits, but they can be too much of a good thing. Most people eat too many omega-6 fats and not enough omega-3. A new study looks at the potential for omega-6 fats’ influence on neuropathic pain in people with diabetes and other conditions.
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio studied the effects of omega-6 fatty acids themselves by measuring the role of these dietary lipids in pain conditions and found that the substances themselves seem to cause pain and inflammation.
The abundance of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats prominent in the typical Western diet “served as a significant risk factor for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain,” UT said in a statement.
Diabetes, autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular diseases are known to be affected by nutritional choices, the researchers said. But excessive consumption of omega-6 fats, which are found largely in commonly consumed processed foods, had not been studied in terms of the acids themselves and their role specifically in pain.
A team from the biomedical sciences, the department of chemistry and the neurology department at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System headed by Dr. Jacob Boyd studied polyunsaturated fatty acids in both mice and humans.
While both omega-6 and omega-3 fats are essential for proper nutritional health, the new study suggests that the preponderance of the former could have detrimental effects. The five-year study was published in the June edition of the journal Nature Metabolism.
Omega-6 fats mainly occur in foods with vegetable oils and are beneficial – to a point.
“But Western diets associated with obesity are characterized by much-higher levels of those acids in foods from corn chips to onion rings, than healthy omega-3 fats, which are found in fish and sources like flaxseed and walnuts,” the researchers’ statement said. “Generally, unhealthy foods high in omega-6 fats include processed snacks, fast foods, cakes, and fatty and cured meats, among others.”
Reversing those dietary habits and increasing omega-3 fats “greatly reduced these pain conditions,” the researchers found. “Also, the authors demonstrated that skin levels of omega-6 lipids in patients with Type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain were strongly associated with reported pain levels and the need for taking analgesic drugs.”
While more research needs to be done, the work could lay a “foundation for new clinical trials and ultimately provide new avenues for the clinical treatment of neuropathies,” wrote Duke University researchers Aidan McGinnis and Ru-Rong Ji.
By THERESA BRAINE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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Originally posted on January 30,2023, this article has been updated on August 24, 2024 to reflect the latest research and statistics. Our editorial team has ensured you’re viewing the most current data on this topic. Need help or have a question? Email us.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. For years, dietary cholesterol was implicated in increasing blood cholesterol levels leading to the elevated risk of CVD. To date, extensive research did not show evidence to support a role of dietary cholesterol in the development of CVD. As a result, the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans removed the recommendations of restricting dietary cholesterol to 300 mg/day. This review summarizes the current literature regarding dietary cholesterol intake ...
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At the very least, you'll want to keep this to a minimum. Inflammation is often visible—think red skin or a swollen knee. However, inflammation can also occur on the inside, and it's not always so easy to detect. "Inflammation is a physiological process involved in the defense of our body and the repair of tissues," says Jenna Stangland, RD , a Momentous advisor. Stangland explains that inflammation can be triggered by infections, trauma, toxins or allergic reactions. Sometimes, it becomes chronic in the muscles and tissues. Unfortunately, Stangland says chronic inflammation carries risks. "Chronic inflammation can end up stimulating the development of cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disease, neurological disease or cancer," Stangland says. "This type of inflammation can last several months as a result of inability to combat and reduce it." Diet isn't a cure-all for chronic inflammation or the diseases it can trigger. However, it's an important tool. "Diet plays a significant role in inflammation, as certain foods can either promote or reduce inflammation in the body," says Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN , a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com . One food in particular is worth avoiding. RDs shared the food to limit if you have chronic inflammation. Related: The One Diet That Will Actually Lower Your Heart Attack Risk, According to Cardiologists
What does the medical peer reviewed literature say may be at the root of the following diseases: Metabolic Syndrome/Insulin Resistance/Diabetes Cardiovascular Disease Cancer Obesity Depression Autoimmune Disease Neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease) Osteoporosis Immunosenescence (the progressive decline in immune function with increasing age) The Answer is: INFLAMMATION
18 or 80 most anyone can do these. Remember create a habit first. Perform these exercises just twice a week.
