Older people who have a high-fat diet packed with omega 6 fatty acids may be at higher risk of developing diabetes, heart failure and a range of other health issues, revealed a latest study. The study, published in FASEB Journal, investigated the effects of calorie-dense, obesity-generating diet in ageing mice. The findings revealed that the high fat diet tended to disrupt the composition of the gut microbiome.





The researchers studied how ageing and omega 6-enriched diet impact microflora in the gut, the structure and function of the spleen (abdominal organ), and a subsequent immune response to heart attack.





For the study, the team fed an obesity-generating diet to a group of young mice who were able to resolve inflammation after a heart attack, though their gut microflora had already been altered by the diet.





However, when the aged mice were fed a high fat diet, they were not able to process it well. The heart attack triggered nonresolving inflammation -- associated with heart failure.







"This study highlights that diet and age are critical factors that have differential impact with age, and it highlights the spleen and heart as an inter-organ communication system with the immune defence system," said Ganesh Halade, Associate Professor at the University of Alabama.





The findings also suggested that obesity-generating diet increased the proportion of neutrophils in the blood of aged-mice. You tend to have higher neutrophil count if you have an infection or are under a lot of stress.

The obesity-generating diet in eldery also led to structural deformities in mice spleens.





Spleen is a secondary immune organ, which happens to be an important component of our body's immunity system. It is a reservoir of disease fighting leukocytes that move to the heart to begin tissue repair. They also help regulate inflammation in case of heart attack.







(With inputs IANS)









