High-fat, high carbohydrate diet

Diets are an essential facet of human life. They are a day in, day out aspect in people’s
lives. The majority of the individuals do not put much thought into what they eat. The statement
“you are what you eat,” outrightly befits this phenomenon. Fats and carbs constitute 50-70% of
our daily calorie requirements (Treuth et al., 2), but their intake should be kept in check. The
advent and proliferation of high fat, high carb diets across the world have brought with them
popularity as these foods are cheaper to produce than well-balanced diets. Some of the popular
foods and beverages in this dietary category include pizzas, burgers, fries, crisps, bread, sodas,
sweetened coffee drinks, baked goods, and some morning cereals among other foods.
Additionally, their affordability and diversity act as driving forces that have led to their
mass adoption. Most of their macronutrients have been processed meaning that their structures
have been altered to meet the demand. These high fat, high card foods contain lots of unsaturated
fats, confectioned and synthetic sugars, preservative, and flavoring salts, which all have different
effects on the body’s metabolism (Treuth et al., 5). This text is aimed at debunking and bring to
light the negative impacts of a high carb, high fat carbohydrate diet.
These unhealthy diets’ negatives outweigh their positives. A higher carbohydrate diet
increase triglyceride in the blood and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) (Treuth et al., 8) or bad
cholesterol. Nutrition epidemiology programs have shown that the aforementioned predisposes

one to heart diseases. These diets alter the body’s cell metabolism and this results in the body
packing up fat. Some of these unsaturated fats in the high-fat foods are sedimented onto the
epithelium of blood vessels which can lead to clogging. This, in turn, is translated to heart
diseases such as stroke, cardiac arrest, and hypertension, which are life-threatening. These diets
not only do they affect the metabolic and cardiovascular system (Patty & Kraus 2), they also
impact the humoral and nervous systems which all work in tandem to keep the body healthy.
Research has found close linkage of high carbohydrate, high-fat diets to weight gain.
These foods when digested exude triglycerides leading to inflammation of the hypothalamus
(Treuth et al., 7) which is a part of the brain that controls metabolism and homeostasis. This, in
turn, affects cells known as microglial cells thus triggering their mitochondria to use more
energy (Ble-Castillo et al., 5). This ultimately disrupts the normal functioning of the
hypothalamus in maintaining balance of glucose and energy in the body; hence, an individual
consumes more food leading to weight gain and obesity. This has been proved using mice and
rats, and the results were alarming. These unhealthy foods not only do they change the body’s
physical characteristics they also take toll on one’s neurological makeup.
These foods also affect one’s physiological health, such as cognition and sleep (Ble-
Castillo et al., 10). Overweight and obese individuals have reported lack of sleep and reduced
total sleep time. Consumption of these foods can lead to a combination of obesity and sleep
apnea, which can further progress to fatigue and poor sleep patterns (Ble-Castillo et al., 8). A lot
of energy is dissipated on digestion of these foods which is one reason why some individuals
have reported reduce sleep time or lack thereof. The primary effect these foods have on the body
is obesity, which can predispose one to dementia (Patty & Kraus 4). Weight gain and cognitive
decline have been demonstrated to have a bidirectional relationship with assertions that the increase in body weight can be as a result of reduced executive brain function (Ble-Castillo et al.,
6).
Diets high in fat and carbohydrates disrupt and destroy the gut’s microflora. Various
consequences are associated with this phenomenon. The gut bacteria can proliferate to alarming
levels due to the compounds exuded when these foods are broken down; for instance, the E. coli
strain can lead to bloody diarrhea and cholic. E. Coli are generally harmless in normal counts,
but their pathogenicity increases as they increase in number, which can be sparked by presence
of unsaturated fats and complex carbs in the alimentary canal (Ble-Castillo et al., 5). This effect
on gut microbes also increases risk of metabolic ailments such as diabetes type 2 also known as
diabetes mellitus. Many studies strongly attest to concept that high-fat diets impair insulin action
hence leading to diabetes mellitus (Treuth et al., 6).
These diets can also lead to the reduction of some helpful bacteria such as
Faecalibacterium and Blautia species (Treuth et al., 10), which aid in production of the fatty
acid butyrate, which is an energy source for cells in the bowel and also contains anti-
inflammatory properties. Researchers have found correlation between high fat and card diets and
inflammation since upon digestion these foods produce long-chain fatty acid (Ble-Castillo et al.,
6). These fatty acids are associated with inflammation, and these markers have been observed in
the blood of individuals consuming these foods.
These diets affect the permeability of the intestines. The intestinal epithelium is
responsible for absorbing dietary nutrients and protecting one from various ingested microbes
and toxins. The microbes, epithelial cells, and immune cells can be disrupted by the food high in
fat, disrupting the system leading to inflammatory bowel ailments, enterocolitis, and celiac disease (Patty & Kraus 3). These conditions cause the intestine wall’s permeability to change,
and nutrient absorption into the bloodstream can be disrupted.
Diets high in fat also have a lasting effect on the liver leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver
diseases or NAFLD (Patty & Kraus 3). This condition is irreversible even after switching to a
healthier diet and can lead to serious liver diseases or even failure. Mounting evidence is
available that adverse effects of high fat, high carb diets outweigh their positives, and healthier
diets need to be advocated and adopted.

 

Works cited

Treuth, Margarita S., et al. "Metabolic adaptation to high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets in
children and adolescents." The American journal of clinical nutrition 77.2 (2003): 479-
489.
Ble-Castillo, Jorge L., et al. "Differential effects of high-carbohydrate and high-fat diet
composition on metabolic control and insulin resistance in normal rats." International
journal of environmental research and public health 9.5 (2012): 1663-1676.
Siri-Tarino, Patty W., and Ronald M. Krauss. "Diet, lipids, and cardiovascular disease." Current
opinion in lipidology 27.4 (2016): 323-328.