High Fat Diet and Antibiotics May Raise Pre-IBD Risk

Rebalancing microbes in the gut a promising treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

A new study links a high-fat diet and antibiotics use with an 8.6 times higher risk for having pre-inflammatory bowel disease. tiverylucky/shutterstock

Combining a Western-style high-fat diet with antibiotic use significantly increases the risk of developing pre-inflammatory bowel disease (pre-IBD), according to new research.

The study in Cell Host and Microbe suggests that this combination shuts down the energy factories (mitochondria) in cells of the colon lining, leading to gut inflammation.