Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH9NiUTtOcR/Obesity due to consistent ingestion of a high-fat diet limits that ability of your white blood cells to effectively fight bacterial infections.  Pediatric researchers at the University of Michigan studied this phenomenon in a mouse model and now report their findings in The Journal of Immunology.Obesity was induced with a sustained, 16 week, high fat diet.  The bacteria-fighting lymphocytes, so-called neutrophils, generated by these obese mice produce diminished bactericidal secretions, are less capable of ingesting or phagocytosing these pathogens, and lack normal regenerative capabilities in comparison to those neutrophils found in control mice with normal weights.This study adds yet another reason for obese persons to cut out fats in their diets and normalize their body weights.  Besides reducing the risk of heart attacks and alleviating the burdens their joints and backs must bear, they will repower their immune systems to protect them against serious a