Cardiovascular Diseases: Diet, Microbiota, Immunity, It Is All Linked!

Inserm Newsroom - Press room of the French national institute of health and medical research. Visualization of immune cell (lymphocyte) proliferation in the mesenteric lymph nodes, under the influence of a microbiota modulated by a high-fat diet. Soraya Taleb/PARCC Although a high-fat, low-fiber diet is recognized as promoting cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, the mechanisms involved have not yet been fully identified. Researchers from Inserm and Université Paris Cité have studied the role of the gut microbiota in the development of atherosclerosis. Their work in mice reveals that the low fiber content of the high-fat diet leads to an imbalance in the gut microbiota, which itself causes systemic inflammation, worsening the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries. These findings, published in Cell Reports , provide further evidence of the importance of fiber in the diet, both for good bowel function and for preventing the onset of cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases constitute one of the leading causes of death worldwide.