Diet Can Change Organ Structure And Metabolism For Many Years

Diet can change organ structure and metabolism for many years

Under the influence of diet, organic changes occur in tissues that can have a long-term positive effect on metabolism and reduce the likelihood of cancer. This is evidenced by a study published in the journal Developmental Cell.

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Under the influence of diet, organic changes occur in tissues that can have a long-term positive effect on metabolism and reduce the likelihood of cancer. This is evidenced by a study published in the journal Developmental Cell.

For scientific work, the scientists used fruit flies, which in such cases are a good object, since the results can most likely be projected onto mammals.

In the intestines of flies, like mammals, there are stem cells that produce hormones and “work” with nutrients. Scientists have found that stem cells can develop into one type of cell or another under the influence of different types of food. A young organism is especially sensitive to such influences.

Rebecca Obniski of the Carnegie Institution for Science, lead author of the study, and her colleagues found that changes in the amount of cholesterol consumed can program cells to produce new, specialized cell types from stem cells.

An increase in the amount of cholesterol in food led to the appearance of more cells with hormonal activity, and a decrease in it led to the appearance of a larger number of cells that absorb nutrients.

This shows that low availability of nutrients in the diet, especially at a young age, leads to changes in gut structure with long-term metabolic effects that can lead to metabolic diseases over time.

“Children born to mothers with eating disorders are often forced to fight obesity in the future. Our findings may explain the physiology of why this happens,”says Obniski.

The study authors say that understanding how food affects organ structure could help scientists use diet to fight aging and disease in adults. For example, new discoveries explain why a diet high in fat contributes to the development of certain types of bowel cancer.