A High-Fat/High-Protein, Atkins-Type Diet Exacerbates <i>Clostridioides</i> ( <i>Clostridium</i> ) <i>difficile</i> Infection in Mice, whereas a High-Carbohydrate Diet Protects
Chrisabelle C. Mefferd, Shrikant S. Bhute, Jacqueline R. Phan, Jacob V. Villarama, M. Dung, Stephanie Alarcia, Ernesto Abel‐Santos, Brian P. Hedlund
Abstract
The role of Western and weight-loss diets with extreme macronutrient composition in the risk and progression of CDI is poorly understood. In a longitudinal study, we showed that a high-fat/high-protein, Atkins-type diet greatly exacerbated antibiotic-induced CDI, whereas a high-carbohydrate diet protected, despite the high monosaccharide and starch content. Our study results, therefore, suggest that popular high-fat/high-protein weight-loss diets may enhance CDI risk during antibiotic treatment, possibly due to the synergistic effects of a loss of the microorganisms that normally inhibit C. difficile overgrowth and an abundance of amino acids that promote C. difficile overgrowth. In contrast, a high-carbohydrate diet might be protective, despite reports on the recent evolution of enhanced carbohydrate metabolism in C. difficile .