A new study claims your body treats fast food like a bacterial infection, and it may cause irreversible damage to your immune system.
The University of Bonn study found that a fast food diet triggers an acute inflammatory response in your body, much like that of a bacterial infection. The study also uncovered dramatic long-term consequences of an overly aggressive immune system. A diet too high in sugar and fat may be doing permanent damage to your body’s immune cells, putting you at a greater risk for type 2 diabetes in the future.
To conduct the study, scientists switched mice from a typical grain diet to a “Western diet” that was high in sugar and fat, and low in fiber. The scientists noticed a sharp increase of immune cells in the blood of the mice.
Essentially, an unhealthy diet triggered an inflammatory response in the mice, the same response caused by a bacterial infection.
According to the study, when your body’s immune cells remain in an aggravated state, you are more at risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack, or stroke in the future.
The study was published in the journal “Cell”.