A popular ingredient in the American diet has been linked to ulcerative colitis. The ingredient is soybean oil, which is very common in processed foods. In fact, U.S. per capita consumption of soybean oil increased more than 1,000-fold during the 20th century.
In a study from the University of California Riverside and UC Davis, mice fed a diet high in soybean oil were more at risk of developing colitis.
The likely culprit? Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid that comprises up to 60% of soybean oil.
Small amounts of linoleic acid help maintain the body's water balance. But Americans derive as much as 10% of their daily energy from linoleic acid, when they need only 1% to 2%, the researchers say.
The findings build on earlier research linking a high-linoleic acid diet with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, in humans. (Previous research in mice has also linked high consumption of the oil with obesity and diabetes in rodents.)
Enzymes that metabolize fatty acids are "shared between two pathways," said study co-author Frances Sladek, PhD, professor of cell biology at UC Riverside. "If you swamp the system with linoleic acid, you'll have less enzymes available to metabolize omega-3s into good endocannabinoids."
The endocannabinoid system has been linked to "visceral pain" in the gut, said Punyanganie de Silva, MD, MPH, an assistant professor at Brigham & Women's Hospital, who was not involved in the study. But the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and inflammation has yet to be fully explored.
"This is one of the first papers that has looked at the association between linoleic acid and the endocannabinoid system," de Silva said. "[The researchers] propose a potential new mechanism of how linoleic acid may increase inflammation" — that is, through its impact on the endocannabinoid system.
In a study from the University of California Riverside and UC Davis, mice fed a diet high in soybean oil were more at risk of developing colitis.
The likely culprit? Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid that comprises up to 60% of soybean oil.
Small amounts of linoleic acid help maintain the body's water balance. But Americans derive as much as 10% of their daily energy from linoleic acid, when they need only 1% to 2%, the researchers say.
The findings build on earlier research linking a high-linoleic acid diet with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, in humans. (Previous research in mice has also linked high consumption of the oil with obesity and diabetes in rodents.)
Enzymes that metabolize fatty acids are "shared between two pathways," said study co-author Frances Sladek, PhD, professor of cell biology at UC Riverside. "If you swamp the system with linoleic acid, you'll have less enzymes available to metabolize omega-3s into good endocannabinoids."
The endocannabinoid system has been linked to "visceral pain" in the gut, said Punyanganie de Silva, MD, MPH, an assistant professor at Brigham & Women's Hospital, who was not involved in the study. But the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and inflammation has yet to be fully explored.
"This is one of the first papers that has looked at the association between linoleic acid and the endocannabinoid system," de Silva said. "[The researchers] propose a potential new mechanism of how linoleic acid may increase inflammation" — that is, through its impact on the endocannabinoid system.
