High fibre diet may reduce food allergies

My mother was an RN and time and again she told my sister and I that the bowel is connected to the brain.

Obviously the two organs are not physically connected in the body, but her years of nursing showed her that if there is a problem in the bowel, there was a much greater likelihood of brain issues.

So having a healthy bowel has been found to reduce the potential for things like depression. Eating enough fibre and having regular exercise are the keys to keeping the bowel healthy.

A recent study by Monash University has found that eating a high fibre diet  may actually help the bowel reduce food allergies as well.

A PhD student, Jian Tan, fed mice with a peanut allergy a high fibre diet and their gut and colon microbiota changed. These mice were then found to no longer have a peanut allergy.

The report from the study states; “The microbiota in the gut assist the immune system in resisting allergies through the breaking down of fibre into short-chain fatty acids. This opens up a potential route for drug therapy for allergies by delivering short-chain fatty acids as a treatment.”

The short chain fatty acids apparently boost the production of dendritic cells, which determine if the allergic reaction to foods occurs or not.

The report says; “Effectively, increased levels of short-chain fatty acids switch these cells to stop the allergic response, while a lack of fibre may have an opposite effect. These specialised dendritic cells require vitamin A, another factor which can only be obtained through the diet, and is high in vegetables and fruits.”

So now human trials are needed to find if the mice tests also apply to people. If so, this is significant for thos with food allergies.

The research is published in the Cells Report journal, Volume 15, Issue 12.