Link between diet, immune system

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Bodak

Posted Wednesday, October 28, 2009 2:52 PM

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AUSTRALIAN scientists have found a "direct link" between what we eat and how well our immune system operates,
a breakthrough that could explain rising rates of autoimmune disease across the western world.

Professor Charles Mackay, working at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, identified how fibre in the diet plays a major role in ensuring a person's immune cells function properly.

His research, published in the prestigious journal Nature, also signals the shift of what had been a fringe concept into the scientific mainstream.

"This potentially explains all the previous data that no one had taken that seriously," Prof Mackay said. "I think it's fair to say the broader immunological research community has never really believed that diet affects immune responses.

"This does provide a direct link for the way immune cells work with the sort of things we eat."

Working along with PhD student Kendle Maslowski, Prof Mackay investigated the operation of an immune cell receptor known to bind with "short chain fatty acids" - what fibre is reduced to once processed by bacteria in the gut.

This broken-down fibre was found to "profoundly affect immune cell function", Prof Mackay said, and without it the immune cells appeared more likely to go awry.

Autoimmune disease refers to disorders in which a person's immune system mistakenly attacks part of the body, causing inflammation.

"When (immune cells) go bad they cause inflammatory diseases, so asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease ..." Prof Mackay said. "We think one of the mechanisms for their normal control is short chain fatty acids binding to this receptor.

"And if we were to speculate on the real significance of this, we believe firmly that the best explanation for the increase in inflammatory diseases in western countries ... is our changes in diet."

A lack of dietary fibre could also be behind the rise in type 1 diabetes, Prof Mackay said.

The research suggests that having a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds would reduce a person's risk of autoimmune disease.

It also helped to explain why food supplements that affect the balance of gut bacteria were known to reduce the symptoms of some inflammatory conditions.

Prof Mackay said dietary fibre, or roughage, was otherwise known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers plus it ensures you will be regular.

"The role of nutrition ... is an exciting new topic in immunology," he said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/link-between-diet-immune-system/story-e6frf7kf-1225792288469

----------------------------------------
Peace be with you always.
Stephen

Severe RA since October 06
Web Site - Photography

Post #4250834

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Pip

Posted Wednesday, November 04, 2009 1:26 AM

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Thanks, Stephen, for posting this.

Pip

Antibiotic Protocol - Minocin, Zithromax, Naproxen (occasionally), 1 mg. Folic Acid.

Supps are Milk Thistle, Black Cohosh, Bromelain, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, NAC, B12, Hawthorne, CoQ10, MSM, Tumeric, and weaning Melatonin! PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS!!!

Occassionally Nystatin, Diflucan, GSE, Oil of Oregano still sitting on the counter!

Feel free to PM me about the Antibiotic Protocol~

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates

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Captex

Posted Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:22 AM

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I just finished reading the article and find it to be interesting. My question for others is whether or not fibre has had a positive effect on your RA. My son started to develop what would become asthma when he was just 4 days old. My two other kid were fine at birth. One has bowel issues, as I did as a youngster.

I think that my family is genetically predisposed to auto-immune diseases. Although. I would prefer the fibre reality, if it's true. I've tried to include more fibre into my diet over the years, it has definitely help with my diverticulosis. But too much can, and has caused flare ups of my condition.

I understand that the underlying support relates more to the bacteria that serves a special purpose in this case. Is there a more direct approach?

Just curious.

Hope everyone has a Great Day!

captex

I'm off Prednisone! and off Bactrim, currently taking Atenenol, Albuterol, Glipizide, Lozol, NOMORE NSAIDS and trying to lose the 30+lbs that I gained recently from Prednisone. Just added Arava. Diagnosed with RA in 1982. Fighting ILD. I'm dealing with my Diabetes and I've only begun to truely understand RA.

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Annaart

Posted Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:59 AM

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Of course, genetics is an important part of many of these auto immune diseases so diet won't ever "be the cure". I've been following the proper diet for many many years. It is why no certain diet will help everyone.

One of the problems with talking about the high increase in auto immune diseases is they don't take into consideration that the genes weren't past on as often before treatments were available. Little children with type 1 diabetes, sadly, did not live to have children. The same with people with other auto immune diseases, they did not live long enough to either have children or have a lot of children. My mothers mother died of RA (immobility, heart attack) when my mother was 2 years old.

It is like when they say nobody of a certain nationality has something and they take a certain spice. Well, genetically, that nationality might not have problems with a certain gene.

Also, insecticides and smoking seem to change the genes, and that research is just coming to the for front too.

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Pip

Posted Wednesday, November 04, 2009 12:29 PM

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This was reported in Healing Well - fiber helps with IBD etc. The connections to RA are similar and if you want studies, let me know and I'll get them from Pubmed.

http://news.healingwell.com/index.php?p=news1&id=630476

Anna - food might very well lead to the 'cure'. If black raspberries can turn off 460 different genes, we might find that gene therapy is not needed. Other foods also turn off disease genes so its not a rare occurance. The hard part is figuring out what your body needs to heal; but it can be done.

Your comment about nationality and spice made me think of Indian's and tumeric. Might it also explain why some people don't have such severe disease as people who don't consume the spice? Thank God there are a ton of studies on Pubmed investigating the method of action into Tumeric and a concerted effort to develop a med that will 'exploit' it's 'novel pathways'. Just like a lot of our meds.

Finally, as for your comments on genes - this is precisely why I don't think genes are 'all that'. If that were true, most of these diseases would be removed from the population because people died before they could procreate.

http://bacteriality.com/2008/02/11/ewald/

Pip

Antibiotic Protocol - Minocin, Zithromax, Naproxen (occasionally), 1 mg. Folic Acid.

Supps are Milk Thistle, Black Cohosh, Bromelain, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, NAC, B12, Hawthorne, CoQ10, MSM, Tumeric, and weaning Melatonin! PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS!!!

Occassionally Nystatin, Diflucan, GSE, Oil of Oregano still sitting on the counter!

Feel free to PM me about the Antibiotic Protocol~

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates

Post #4255812

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