Dietary protein, the microbiota and gut barrier function: a gatekeeper of metabolic & immune health

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The gut barrier functions to prevent the passage of bacteria and bacterial products into the systemic blood circulation. If the gut barrier fails, bacterial products can infiltrate bodily tissues, causing metabolic and immune dysfunction. The best example of this effect occurs in inflammatory conditions that lead to a translocation of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the gut to the liver, where LPS has been implicated in promoting the accumulation of ectopic fat and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a common condition that contributes to the development of cardiovascular and terminal liver diseases. We have new evidence to show that gut barrier function, as measured by an increase in gut permeability, is also impaired in healthy men, a phenomenon known as 'leaky gut'. While there may be different causes of this condition, there is emerging evidence to suggest that the fermentation products of dietary protein may impair gut barrier function in the colon, especially in the absence of fermentable carbohydrate. If this link can be substantiated, it would have major implications for the over consumption of protein in the UK population, especially with respect to proposed dietary recommendations to increase protein intake in middle-aged adults.