Muñoz, A., & Costa, M. (2013). Nutritionally mediated oxidative stress and inflammation. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/610950
Muñoz A, Costa M. Nutritionally mediated oxidative stress and inflammation. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/610950
Muñoz, A., and M. Costa. "Nutritionally mediated oxidative stress and inflammation." Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2013.
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RRM Academy Synopsis
Dietary choices can raise or dampen inflammation from oxidative stress
A 2013 narrative review of human and laboratory studies reports that eating sets off oxidative stress and inflammation that food choices can raise or lower. Arachidonic acid and saturated fats can increase inflammatory signals such as IL-8. The authors find that olive oil, fruits and vegetables can lower the signal IL-6 in blood immune cells.
Study at a glance, narrative review: Food choices can raise or lower inflammation from oxidative stress. Source: Muñoz A et al., 2013, PMID 23844276.
Key Findings
After meals, circulating IL-6 and TNF-α rise through oxidative stress signaling mediated by NFκB, a pattern the review reports in normal individuals and in those with diabetes.
A microarray study comparing adipocytes of obese and nonobese Pima Indians found that 52 of 54 differentially expressed inflammation-related genes were upregulated in the adipocytes.
In one human study of moderately overweight individuals, a saturated fat diet, compared with a monounsaturated fat diet, overexpressed inflammatory adipose genes including CTSS, IL-8 and ITGB2.
Obese women on intense caloric restriction for 28 days improved on 100 inflammation-related transcripts in subcutaneous adipose tissue. The changes were absent after 2 days.
Young adults in the top third of fruit and vegetable intake had the lowest CRP, IL6, TNFα and NFκB gene expression after adjusting for confounders including age and fiber intake.
Interpretation
The paper is a narrative review of human intervention studies, population studies and cell experiments. The review centers on gene activity and inflammation markers in fat tissue and blood immune cells. The authors use gene expression changes in obesity as a lens on short- and long-term inflammation from diet. Some evidence comes from cell lines, such as prostate cancer cells. The authors call the effects of saturated fats ambiguous in many areas, with conflicting reports on how they activate immune receptors.
RRM Context
Restorative reproductive medicine takes a whole-person view of health, with attention to root causes in both partners. Nutrition, metabolic health and long-term inflammation fit that view. The review links obesity with several cancers, including endometrial cancer, and cites evidence that inflammation plays a role in that process.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
There are many sources of nutritionally mediated oxidative stress that trigger inflammatory cascades along short and long time frames. These events are primarily mediated via NF κ B. On the short-term scale postprandial inflammation is characterized by an increase in circulating levels of IL-6 and TNF- α and is mirrored on the long-term by proinflammatory gene expression changes in the adipocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of obese individuals. Specifically the upregulation of CCL2/MCP-1, CCL3/MIP-1 α , CCL4/MIP-1 β , CXCL2/MIP-2 α , and CXCL3/MIP-2 β is noted because these changes have been observed in both adipocytes and PBMC of obese humans. In comparing numerous human intervention studies it is clear that pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory consumption choices mediate gene expression in humans adipocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Arachidonic acid and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) both demonstrate an ability to increase pro-inflammatory IL-8 along with numerous other inflammatory factors including IL-6, TNF α , IL-1 β , and CXCL1 for arachidonic acid and IGB2 and CTSS for SFA. Antioxidant rich foods including olive oil, fruits, and vegetables all demonstrate an ability to lower levels of IL-6 in PBMCs. Thus, dietary choices play a complex role in the mediation of unavoidable oxidative stress and can serve to exacerbate or dampen the level of inflammation.
