Research

Hormonal

High-fat diets increase serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels (metabolic endotoxemia) by increasing chylomicron transport, decreasing gut barrier integrity, and reducing alkaline phosphatase activity, leading to systemic low-grade inflammation.

High-fat diets can compromise your gut barrier, allowing bacterial toxins (LPS) to enter your bloodstream. This triggers inflammation, which is linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. To mitigate this, focus on diets that support gut barrier integrity, such as those rich in prebiotics, which have been shown to improve gut barrier function and reduce endotoxemia.

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The level of serum LPS is increased by about twice in obese, diabetic, or high fat diet fed individuals, by processes involving an increase in chylomicron (lipoproteins that transport triglycerides and cholesterol from the small intestine to other tissues) formation (upon high fat diet feeding), a decrease in gut barrier integrity, and a decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity, which is the enzyme responsible for the cleavage of the LPS in the intestine.
Nathalie M. Delzenne et al. · Microbial Cell Factories · 2011

Why this rating

Supported by multiple animal studies and observational data in humans cited in the review.

Source

Modulation of the gut microbiota by nutrients with prebiotic properties: consequences for host health in the context of obesity and metabolic syndrome

Nathalie M. Delzenne et al. · Microbial Cell Factories · 2011

DOI 10.1186/1475-2859-10-s1-s10

narrative_reviewCited 228×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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