Abstracts
Apples Can Suppress IBD
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Here’s another reason why “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”—according to new research findings published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (https://www.jleukbio.org), oral ingestion of apple polyphenols (antioxidants found in apple peels) can suppress T cell activation to prevent colitis in mice.[1] This study is the first to show a role for T cells in polyphenol-mediated protection against an autoimmune disease and could lead to new therapies and treatments for people with disorders related to bowel inflammation, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and colitis-associated colorectal cancer.
You AhR What You Eat: Linking Diet and Immunity.
Researchers reporting in the journal Cell[1] on October 13th, in the journal Science[2] on Oct 27th and Nature Reviews Immunology[3] earlier in the year are among the first to describe a mechanistic link between dietary compounds and intestinal immune function.
These scientists have found another good reason to eat your green vegetables, although it may or may not win any arguments with kids at the dinner table. It relies on a complex application of immunology and systems biology, the sort of quandary we all love to try and summarise in a few easy sentences whilst becoming lost in a sea of complexity.
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Leaky Gut Induces Visceral Obesity
From its dark days as a concept dismissed by most Drs and scientists as being suitable only for the more eccentric alternative medicine crowd, the idea that the gastrointestinal tract may have varying levels and quality of exclusionary capacity has slowly become mainstream-ish.
A paper out in the prestigious Nature Journal – Obesity, has raised the question that altered visceral adiposity – ‘fat around the middle’ may be initiated and promoted by altered barrier integrity.[1]
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IBS And Food – Is There A Link?
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There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that certain dietary constituents exacerbate symptoms and perhaps contribute to the pathogenesis of IBS. Patients have long associated their IBS symptoms with the ingestion of certain foods, combinations of foods, or generally with meals. Response rates from elimination diets have ranged from 15%-71%,[1] with wheat, milk, and eggs being the most commonly implicated foods.
Food and Our Bacterial Mix – Can we really change them both?
A few weeks ago (June 2012), a paper in Nature by a group of researchers suggested that despite the vast geographical and nutritional differences in the human population, that just three predominant bacterial clusters (referred to as enterotypes hereafter) could explain all of our gastric microbial mixes.[1] This they suggest indicates the existence of a limited number of well-balanced host–microbial symbiotic states that might respond differently to diet and drug intake.
Each of these three enterotypes are identifiable by the variation in the levels of one of three genera: Bacteroides (enterotype 1), Prevotella (enterotype 2) and Ruminococcus (enterotype 3). These enterotypes are not as sharply delimited as, for example, human blood groups; they are, in contrast, densely populated areas in a multidimensional space of community composition. They are nevertheless likely to characterise individuals, in line with previous reports that gut microbiota are quite stable in individuals and can even be restored after perturbation.[2]
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Chocolate is Heart Felt!
How many times have we been faced with the decision about whether to pass or to consume that bar of chocolate, confident that by doing so we have added not only virtue to our lives but also longevity by steering clear of unwanted fats and sugars.
Well for the coco enthusiast a paper out in the late August version of the British Medical Journal may add weight to your preliminary discussion …. it’s good for me.[1]
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Entero-Test – Simple and Effective Research Mechanism
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At first sight one may wonder why a paper published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology is being highlighted on this web site.[1] Yet Dr Guiney and his colleagues have evolved a very elegant approach to complex metabolically relevant data collection using a simple, non-invasive test that should be celebrated as an example a combination of science, economics and human/animal care, sometimes assumed not to exist in large research establishments. This paper expanded on a previous study published in 2010.[2]
Ecklonia Cava Beneficially Impacts Body Fat and Lipids
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The use of a standardised sea weed extract by the name of Eckclonia cava has attracted considerable interest in the management of a variety of human health problems, mainly based around its purported long half-life antioxidant capabilities. This paper published in Phytotherapy Research adds further clarification to its potential use in the management of individuals with weight and lipid related problems.[1]
Folic Acid Mediates Post Partum Depression – Eventually
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Does Folic acid during pregnancy have any beneficial effects on the mood state of the mother, during pregnancy, immediately post-partum or later. This study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition[1] implies that it does, but that we have to wait almost 2 years to identify the impact – that seems a very long time to me, and does not indicate that this should be considered a sensible supplementation if post-partum depression management is your goal. Single nutrient therapies, whilst attractive from an intervention study perspective, fail time and again to modify complex disorders. Humans have the annoying reality of multiple points of impact; nutritional supplementation needs to be considered as a therapeutic intervention in line with food intake, body mass, social experiences, competing nutrient stealers, such as alcohol etc.
Anxiety and Fish Oil
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The use of fish oils to mediate anxiety in a selected group of intelligent and healthy young people has suggested a positive correlation. The implications are that other groups, especially the elderly and individuals with complex disorders may also benefit. For over thirty years the relationships between stress and immune function have been explored and this is one of the latest papers published in the leading cross discipline journal Brain Behaviour and immunity.[1]
