Does a high-fat meal temporarily raise your inflammation markers?

After a high-fat meal, the protein IL-6 rises in the blood repeatedly and reliably. On average the level doubles, peaking around six hours after eating. This has been shown in healthy adults under 60, and so far it is the only protein that responds reliably within this time window.

Other commonly measured markers of inflammation, such as CRP, TNF-alfa and IL-1beta, do not rise reliably after a high-fat meal. In 79%, 68% and 67% of studies respectively, these values did not change. The body's response to fat after a meal is therefore more specific than is often assumed.

How strong the response is depends partly on what you eat. A western breakfast with butter produced a more inflammation-promoting pattern than a Mediterranean breakfast with olive oil. This effect was strongest in people with excess weight. Which type of fat is most unfavourable is not yet clear: a small study of 18 people actually found higher levels of a broad inflammation marker after polyunsaturated fats (from corn and linseed oil) than after saturated fats, which runs counter to expectations and should be considered preliminary.

The composition of your meal makes a noticeable difference. Adding 100 grams of tomato puree to a high-fat meal measurably reduced inflammation markers in the blood and inflammation activity in fatty tissue in healthy men. Pigment molecules from berries called anthocyanins had a beneficial effect on cell damage caused by unstable molecules in many studies, and in slightly fewer than half of those studies also on inflammation markers. Adding raspberries helped with the blood sugar response but did not noticeably lower IL-6.