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It's "well-known" that saturated fat increases circulating endotoxin more than MUFA or PUFA. For that reason, people recommend avoiding saturated fat to lower inflammation (since endotoxin causes inflammation).
However, when looking at cytokine changes, saturated fat is not worse than other fats. It's instead a problem in people with obesity, who are more likely to have gut problems, leaky gut and have enhanced absorption of endotoxin in general.
But this is the study I want to get to. The word endotoxin is misleading. It makes you think there is only 1 kind of endotoxin. But actually different bacteria create different kinds of endotoxin, aka lipopolysaccharides. Some are much more harmful and inflammatory than others. Interestingly, certain endotoxin can actually antagonize the endotoxin receptor, TLR4.
"Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) can promote metabolic endotoxemia, which is considered inflammatory and metabolically detrimental based on Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 agonists, such as Escherichia coli-derived LPS. LPSs from certain bacteria antagonize TLR4 yet contribute to endotoxemia measured by endotoxin units (EUs). We found that E. coli LPS impairs gut barrier function and worsens glycemic control in mice, but equal doses of LPSs from other bacteria do not. Matching the LPS dose from R. sphaeroides and E. coli by EUs reveals that only E. coli LPS promotes dysglycemia and adipose inflammation, delays intestinal glucose absorption, and augments insulin and glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 secretion. Metabolically beneficial endotoxemia promoted by R. sphaeroides LPS counteracts dysglycemia caused by an equal dose of E. coli LPS and improves glucose control in obese mice. The concept of metabolic endotoxemia should be expanded beyond LPS load to include LPS characteristics, such as lipid A acylation, which dictates the effect of metabolic endotoxemia."
So the fact that saturated fat might enhance circulating endotoxin, especially the "good" ones, might actually be seen as a good thing. Just make sure your gut is not inflamed ofc.
However, when looking at cytokine changes, saturated fat is not worse than other fats. It's instead a problem in people with obesity, who are more likely to have gut problems, leaky gut and have enhanced absorption of endotoxin in general.
But this is the study I want to get to. The word endotoxin is misleading. It makes you think there is only 1 kind of endotoxin. But actually different bacteria create different kinds of endotoxin, aka lipopolysaccharides. Some are much more harmful and inflammatory than others. Interestingly, certain endotoxin can actually antagonize the endotoxin receptor, TLR4.
Metabolic endotoxemia is dictated by the type of lipopolysaccharide - PubMed
Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) can promote metabolic endotoxemia, which is considered inflammatory and metabolically detrimental based on Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 agonists, such as Escherichia coli-derived LPS. LPSs from certain bacteria antagonize TLR4 yet contribute to endotoxemia measured by...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
So the fact that saturated fat might enhance circulating endotoxin, especially the "good" ones, might actually be seen as a good thing. Just make sure your gut is not inflamed ofc.