Gut Health. Specific Harms of Western Dietary Patterns & Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF)

This absolutely beautiful diagram depicts some of the key pathways through which the SAD, or typical western dietary patterns more broadly, drive increased risk of major non-communicable disease, such as diabetes, dementia and cardiovascular disease.

It is included within a 2025 review paper within Cell Metabolism - link at the foot of this short piece.

The pathways depicted include:

📉 Elevation of chronic inflammation, leading to inflamm-aging, which refers to accelerated aging driven by excess inflammation

📉 Intestinal barrier dysfunction, whereby the mucus and epithelial cell wall of the small intestine, where most all nutrient absorption takes place, fails to prevent the passage of particles which trigger adverse reactions, referred to as 'leaky gut' or intestinal permeability

📉 Gut dysbiosis, whereby the microbial population in the large intestine is shifted towards one which is net harmful to the host (that's us, the human) rather than beneficial, with wide ranging systemic effects

The paper also identifies the key features of the dietary pattern which produce these gut health mediated outcomes. There is nuance here, but the headlines are:

🍔 Higher-fat, lower fibre

🍬 Higher intakes of emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners & other food additives

🍩High intakes of ultra processed foods (UPF) which have the features above, and combine this with extreme palatability

⏱️ Irregular eating patterns that do not match natural human day-night cycle biology e.g., eating large meals late at night and not having regular meal times

However, there is also hope! The paper points towards healthy dietary patterns that support gut health and systemic health, such as Mediterranean style, Traditional Japanese and Chinese, in combination with regular, consistent eating times, which can include time restricted eating.

These healthy dietary patterns emphasise rather different foods, reflecting what is local, regional, seasonal and cultural. What they do share however is the absence, or at least scarcity, of the types of foods that dominate the typical western dietary food environment i.e., ultra-processed foods (UPF), added sugars, soft textures, hyperpalatable foods, excess intakes of fructose and vegetable oils, additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, flavourings, colourings.

I see these highly negative outcomes at the individual level with most of my clients that arrive to me eating "normally", meaning a typical western diet AND if they are open & committed to dietary and lifestyle change, also the reversal of the negative effects & enjoyment of far greater health, vitality and performance.

Dietary urbanization destabilizes host-gut microbiome homeostasis and informs precision nutrition for human health

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1550413125003985

---

Could you benefit from professional help to optimise your health and performance, both current and future?

Why not book a free call to find out? 📲