University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio — MedicalXPress — 23 June 2021
A typical Western high-fat diet can increase the risk of painful disorders common in people with conditions such as diabetes or obesity, according to a ground-breaking paper more than five years in the making, authored by a collaborative team of 15 researchers led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and published in the June edition of the journal Nature Metabolism. Moreover, changes in diet may significantly reduce or even reverse pain from conditions causing either inflammatory pain — such as arthritis, trauma or surgery — or neuropathic pain, such as diabetes.
The researchers used multiple methods in both mice and humans to study the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in pain conditions. They found that typical Western diets high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats served as a significant risk factor for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Omega-6 fats, mainly found in foods with vegetable oils, have their benefits — but Western diets associated with obesity are characterised by much higher levels of those acids than healthy omega-3 fats, which are found in fish, flaxseed and walnuts. Unhealthy foods high in omega-6 fats generally include processed snacks, fast foods, cakes, and fatty and cured meats.
Critically, reversal of this diet — especially by lowering omega-6 and increasing omega-3 lipids — greatly reduced these pain conditions. The authors also demonstrated that skin levels of omega-6 lipids in patients with Type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain were strongly associated with reported pain levels and the need for analgesic drugs. Lead researcher Dr. Kenneth M. Hargreaves said: “This study exemplifies team science at its best — multiple scientists and clinicians with complementary expertise working together to make lives better.” Duke University researchers wrote in an accompanying editorial: “This comprehensive and elegant study from Boyd et al may serve as a foundation for new clinical trials and ultimately provide new avenues for the clinical treatment of neuropathies.”