A High-Fat/High-Protein, Atkins-Type Diet Exacerbates Clostridioides ( Clostridium ) difficile Infection in Mice, whereas a High-Carbohydrate Diet Protects

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 .