Research

Hormonal

Saturated fatty acids (e.g., palmitate) promote neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, whereas unsaturated fatty acids (e.g., oleic, linoleic, omega-3s) tend to inhibit these pro-inflammatory pathways.

The type of fat you eat matters for inflammation. Saturated fats can trigger inflammatory responses in white blood cells, while unsaturated fats (found in olive oil, fish, nuts) can help suppress these responses.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Palmitic acid (C16 : 0)... could induce the release of NETs in a dose-dependent manner... unsaturated FAs, protect from its over-activation... omega-3 FAs suppressed the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome
Anna Parolini et al. · Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care · 2024

Why this rating

Based on in vitro and animal models; human data is observational.

Source

Dietary fats as regulators of neutrophil plasticity: an update on molecular mechanisms

Anna Parolini et al. · Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care · 2024

DOI 10.1097/mco.0000000000001055

narrative_reviewCited 2×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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