People with a poor diet are more likely to have damaged blood vessels compared to those with healthier eating habits, scientists have said.
New research has found a link between damaged blood vessels and the development of metabolic diseases.
They discovered that a poor diet makes it harder for the blood vessels in the liver and fat tissue to process extra lipids.
In addition, the blood vessels in the lungs become extremely inflamed and those in the kidneys trigger metabolic dysfunction as a result of a poor diet.
Primary author Dr Olga Bondareva said: “As vascular dysfunction drives all major pathologies, from heart failure to atherosclerosis and neurodegeneration, our research shows how bad eating habits molecularly promote the development of diverse diseases.”
Joint author Professor Matthias Blüher said: “We want to elucidate molecular mechanisms of obesity in order to be able to offer people tailor-made therapies in the future.”
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The team of academics found that the molecular health of blood vessels was improved by a good diet.
According to the findings, some blood vessels can develop a ‘memory’ of metabolic disease, which is difficult to reverse.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
