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High-Carb Intake in Infancy Has Lifelong Effects, Study Finds

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no solid food for the first 4 to 6 months, I heartily disagree!  For the first year of life an infant should only be fed breast milk, then fruits, then veggies, then meat…

Mar. 19, 2013 — Consumption of foods high in carbohydrates immediately after birth programs individuals for lifelong increased weight gain and obesity, a University at Buffalo animal study has found, even if caloric intake is restricted in adulthood for a period of time.

The research on laboratory animals was published this month in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism; it was published online in December.

"This is the first time that we have shown in our rat model of obesity that there is a resistance to the reversal of this programming effect in adult life," explains Mulchand S. Patel, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and associate dean for research and biomedical education in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The research has applications to the obesity epidemic in the U.S., particularly as it relates to infant nutrition, Patel explains.

"Many American baby foods and juices are high in carbohydrates, mainly simple sugars," he says. "Our hypothesis has been that the introduction of baby foods too early in life increases carbohydrate intake, thereby boosting insulin secretion and causing metabolic programming that in turn, predisposes the child to obesity later in life."

For more than 20 years, Patel and his UB colleagues have studied how the increased intake of carbohydrate-enriched calories just after birth can program individuals to overeat.

For their rat model of obesity, the UB researchers administered to newborn rat pups special milk formulas they developed that are either similar to rat milk in composition, (higher in fat-derived calories) or enriched with carbohydrate-derived calories.

"These pups who were fed a high-carbohydrate milk formula are getting a different kind of nourishment than they normally would," explains Patel, "which metabolically programs them to develop hyperinsulinemia, a precursor for obesity and type 2 diabetes."

At three weeks of age, the rat pups fed the high-carbohydrate (HC) formula were then weaned onto rat chow either with free access to food or with a moderate calorie restriction, so that their level of consumption would be the same as pups reared naturally.

"When food intake for the HC rats was controlled to a normal level, the pups grew at a normal rate, similar to that of pups fed by their mothers," Patel says. "But we wanted to know, did that period of moderate calorie restriction cause the animals to be truly reprogrammed? We knew that the proof would come once we allowed them to eat ad libitum, without any restrictions.

"We found that when the HC rat undergoes metabolic reprogramming for development of obesity in early postnatal life, and then is subjected to moderate caloric restriction, similar to when an individual goes on a diet, the programming is only suppressed, not erased," he says.

This is due to developmental plasticity, which extends from fetal development into the immediate postnatal period. According to Patel, previous research by others has revealed that during the immediate postnatal period, pancreatic islets and neurons continue to mature.

"That’s why an altered nutritional experience during this critical period can independently modify the way certain organs in the body develop, resulting in programming effects that manifest later in life," Patel says. "During this critical period, the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite, becomes programmed to drive the individual to eat more food. We found that a period of moderate caloric restriction later in life cannot reverse this programming effect."

Therefore, addressing the obesity epidemic in the U.S. requires true lifestyle change, including permanent caloric restriction.

"As long as you restrict intake, you can maintain normal body weight," he says.

To avoid metabolic reprogramming that predisposes a baby to obesity later in life, he says that parents should follow the American Academy of Pediatric guidelines, which state that solid foods should not be given before a baby is 4-6 months old.

Patel adds that this study involved only moderate caloric restriction; he and his colleagues would like to study whether or not more severe caloric restriction for a limited period can result in true metabolic reprogramming to normal metabolic phenotype.

Co-authors with Patel are Malathi Srinivasan, PhD, research assistant professor and Saleh Mahmood, PhD, post-doctoral associate, both in the UB Department of Biochemistry.

The work was supported by the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Gene Discovery Reveals Importance of Eating Your Greens

From Science Daily

Mar. 3, 2013 — Eating your greens may be even more important that previously thought, with the discovery that an immune cell population essential for intestinal health could be controlled by leafy greens in your diet.

The immune cells, named innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), are found in the lining of the digestive system and protect the body from ‘bad’ bacteria in the intestine. They are also believed to play an important role in controlling food allergies, inflammatory diseases and obesity, and may even prevent the development of bowel cancers.

Dr Gabrielle Belz, Ms Lucie Rankin, Dr Joanna Groom and colleagues from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Molecular Immunology division have discovered the gene T-bet is essential for producing a population of these critical immune cells and that the gene responds to signals in the food we eat.
Dr Belz said the research team revealed T-bet was essential for generating a subset of ILCs which is a newly discovered cell type that protects the body against infections entering through the digestive system. “In this study, we discovered that T-bet is the key gene that instructs precursor cells to develop into ILCs, which it does in response to signals in the food we eat and to bacteria in the gut,” Dr Belz said. “ILCs are essential for immune surveillance of the digestive system and this is the first time that we have identified a gene responsible for the production of ILCs.”

The research was published today in the journal Nature Immunology.

Dr Belz said that the proteins in green leafy (cruciferous) vegetables are known to interact with a cell surface receptor that switches on T-bet, and might play a role in producing these critical immune cells. “Proteins in these leafy greens could be part of the same signaling pathway that is used by T-bet to produce ILCs,” Dr Belz said. “We are very interested in looking at how the products of these vegetables are able to talk to T-bet to make ILCs, which will give us more insight into how the food we eat influences our immune system and gut bacteria.”

ILCs are essential for maintaining the delicate balance between tolerance, immunity and inflammation. Ms Rankin said the discovery had given the research team further insight into external factors responsible for ILC activation. “Until recently, it has been difficult to isolate or produce ILCs,” Ms Rankin said. “So we are very excited about the prospect for future research on these cells which are still poorly understood.”

ILCs produce a hormone called interleukin-22 (IL-22), which can protect the body from invading bacteria, Dr Belz said. “Our research shows that, without the gene T-bet, the body is more susceptible to bacterial infections that enter through the digestive system. This suggests that boosting ILCs in the gut may aid in the treatment of these bacterial infections,” she said.
ILCs help to maintain a ‘healthy’ environment in the intestine by promoting good bacteria and healing small wounds and abrasions that are common in the tissues of the gut. They may also have a role in resolving cancerous lesions. “The discovery of these immune cells has thrown open a completely new way of looking at gut biology,” Dr Belz said. “We are just starting to understand how important these immune cells are in regulating allergy and inflammation, and the implications for bowel cancer and other gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease,” she said.

“Understanding the biology of ILCs and the genes that are essential for generating them will help us to develop methods of targeting these cells,” Dr Belz said. “This might include boosting ILCs in situations where they may not be active enough, such as infections or some cancers, or depleting them in situations where they are overactive, such as chronic inflammatory disease,” she said.