Dietary Fat Affects Postprandial Serum Endotoxin Concentration in Healthy Adults

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary fats (saturated or unsaturated) on postprandial endotoxemia and systemic low grade acute inflammation. The investigators hypothesized that meals rich in saturated or n-6 fatty acids would increase postprandial endotoxemia but meals high in n-3 fatty acids would decrease postprandial endotoxemia.Participants were recruited via email and randomized to treatment meal in this single-blind, cross-over study. Each test session participants reported to the laboratory right away in the morning. An indwelling catheter was inserted into the participant non-dominant arm by a qualified nurse and a baseline blood draw was taken. The participant was then provided with one of four test meals (a porridge-type meal containing a different dietary fat), which they ate in entirety within 15 minutes. The participants remained in the laboratory for the next five and a half hours and were not allowed to consume any food or drink except water. During this time, further blood draws were taken at intervals of one hour for a total of five hours after the consumption of the test meal. Collected blood was processed on-site and the serum fraction collected and tested for endotoxin, inflammatory biomarkers, and metabolites.