Yes, it's a shame the studies didn't provide more information about the exact nature of the high fat and high protein diets. At least not in the abstracts. For example did the high fat diets also have high protein? Did the high protein diets also have high fats? What fats were used, PUFA or saturated fat?

A high omega-6:omega-3 PUFA ratio is widely deemed to be unhealthy. Omega-6 increases inflammation, while EPA, an omega-3 PUFA, reduces inflammation. EPA and DHA both reduce intestinal permeability. Supplementation with good quality fish oil is a healthy option, possibly with a high EPA content. Although I don't have any info to back it up, my gut instinct (pardon the pun) is that omega-6s probably increase intestinal permeability leading to increased endotoxaemia and inflammation. I think as a general rule, omega-6s should be reduced in the diet and omega3s increased.

Dr Peat has a vendatta against PUFAs. I'm not saying he's wrong, but I think it's fair to say he's more than a little biased. That said, I think a low fat diet, including PUFAs, will reduce endotoxaemia, improve dysbiosis and reduce inflammation. I know Peat is against fish oil as well. But I maintain that supplementing with a small amount of fish oil, say, 1g EPA, adds very little to overall fat and PUFA intake, yet has significant positive benefits.

With regards coconut oil, Dr Galland told me that it can increase intestinal permeablity. I could not find any research to back this up, but I value Dr Galland's opinions. He has a lot of experience with treating dysbiosis and bowel issues. You seem to think that PUFAs, and not coconut oil, cause leaky gut and endotoxaemia. Without any research to back this up I'm not sure this is a valid assumption.

I use extra virgin olive oil in low temperature cooking. Its ratio of omega6 to omega3 is 10:1, which isn't too bad. I think ghee might be a good saturated fat to cook with if you want to avoid PUFA totally, but it's not antimicrobial like coconut oil.

Thanks for the tip about raw carrots. I shall look into this.

Your post got me looking a bit more into saturated versus unsaturated fats. I found a couple of references which suggest saturated fats are not all good.

"The team first found that mice with a genetic predisposition to get a colitis-like condition were more likely to get the disease when they were fed on a diet that contained concentrated milk fats (in similar proportion to that found in a common Western diet: about 37 percent of calories). A diet high in these fats encourages the growth of the harmful microbe Bilophila wadsworthia, which has also often been found in high levels in patients who have an inflammatory bowel and other intestinal inflammations."

"Saturated fats are difficult to break down, so the intestinal tract gets help from sulfur-rich bile provided by the liver. Many bacteria find sulfur an unpleasant element. But the B. wadsworthia bacteria happen to love sulfur. As the gut gets more sulfurous, this species thrives. Indeed, the researchers found that mice that were fed low levels of fat or unsaturated fats had an infinitesimal amount of these bacteria in their guts"

"To make matters worse, the bacteria’s waste can weaken the intestines’ walls, making it easier for the immune system to do more unintended damage to the tissue."

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/06/13/saturated-fats-ch...


"This review highlights the inflammatory and insulin-antagonizing effects of saturated fatty acids (SFA), which contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome."

"Several studies have demonstrated potential health benefits of substituting SFA with unsaturated FA, particularly oleic acid and (n-3) FA. Thus, reducing consumption of foods rich in SFA and increasing consumption of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and poultry, fish, low-fat dairy products, and oils containing oleic acid or (n-3) FA is likely to reduce the incidence of metabolic disease."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19056664


I am far from convinced that all PUFAs are evil and that saturated fats are good for you. I think an overall low fat diet is best, especially if one suspects intestinal permeability and endotoxaemia. Of the fats, I think extra virgin olive oil and fish oil (esp EPA) are the most beneficial.