Western diet linked to inflammatory response

Consuming a Western-style diet, rich in saturated fats, may increase markers of inflammation. Subjects eating a butter breakfast, consisting of 35 per cent saturated fats like a typical Western diet, experienced increases in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-6 (IL-6): two cytokines actively involved in the inflammatory response. The findings are published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

The diets were represented by three different breakfasts: a butter breakfast with 35 percent SFA, an olive oil breakfast with 36 percent MUFA, and a walnut breakfast with 16 per cent PUFA. Lopez-Miranda and his co-workers report that the butter breakfast resulted in a higher increase in TNF-alpha than the olive oil or walnut breakfasts.