To Eat or Not to Eat-An Inflammatory Issue

Abstract

Comprised of a rich and complex microbial ecosystem, the human intestinal tract is both an immunological organ and supplier of the body’s energy demand and nutrient requirements. This intestinal microbiota provides a large reservoir of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, (known also as endotoxin) that has an immediate stimulatory action on the innate immune system. The gut has evolved mechanisms to detoxify endotoxin and neutralise its potential inflammatory properties. However, this potent inflammatory molecule is transiently detectable in the circulation of healthy individuals following ingestion of food by virtue of a transient gut epithelial permeability arising from the digestive process itself. This acute post-prandial inflammation is somewhat dependent on meal composition with energy rich meals dense in saturated fat and low in fibre and polyphenols exacerbating the process. Chronic exposure to circulating endotoxin by this mechanism has been associated with a dysregulated cardiometabolic phenotype and risk of cardiovascular disease. Spending the majority of wake time in the post-prandial state therefore may contribute to the pathogenesis of these diseases. In this review, I present an overview of the mechanisms by which post-prandial inflammatory events and raise the possibility of modulating meal frequency as a dietary tool to, at least in part, ameliorate the detrimental outcomes of endotoxemia.