Reference Number: 53
Year: 2012
Link: Link to original paper
Health: Gut Microbiome - Creating Healthier Bread to Support Optimal Gut Health | IBS
Summary
Summary
The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota is the collection of microbes which reside in the GI tract and represents the largest source of non-self antigens in the human body. The GI tract functions as a major immunological organ as it must maintain tolerance to commensal and dietary antigens while remaining responsive to pathogenic stimuli. If this balance is disrupted, inappropriate inflammatory processes can result, leading to host cell damage and/or autoimmunity. Evidence suggests that the composition of the intestinal microbiota can influence susceptibility to chronic disease of the intestinal tract including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as more systemic diseases such as obesity, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, a considerable shift in diet has coincided with increased incidence of many of these inflammatory diseases. It was originally believed that the composition of the intestinal microbiota was relatively stable from early childhood; however, recent evidence suggests that diet can cause dysbiosis, an alteration in the composition of the microbiota, which could lead to aberrant immune responses. The role of the microbiota and the potential for diet-induced dysbiosis in inflammatory conditions of the GI tract and systemic diseases will be discussed.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY
The current review focusses on how diet correlates with the increased incidence of many inflammatory-driven diseases which could stem from an altered gut microbiota resulting from diet. The current paper states that probiotics and prebiotics may have the potential to be effective therapeutics to alleviate the symptoms associated with inflammatory diseases, however, the long-term effects ares still unknown. As our understanding of the microbiota continues to grow, promoting microbes which can prevent or control inflammatory-mediated diseases through diet may represent an exciting therapeutic avenue.