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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Mega Dose Vit D – Really?
Vitamin D supplementation, and what levels to use are common discussions amongst Nutritional Therapists. I have written a number of commentaries and reviews on this subject over the last couple of years and a recent paper published in the Journal: Joint Bone Spine presents a very interesting take on mega supplementation to restore Vit D status.[1]
Rather than looking at the results as a directive for vigorous upfront Vit D supplementation, as there are obvious considerations that make this as a universal approach very questionable, it remains clinically relevant, and may provide a degree of confidence. What is of greater interest is the rapidly declining levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) after the first month and the differences noted in the weight of the patient.
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The Appendix – Why We Need It
The term vestigial organ is used to describe tissues that are typically in a degenerate, atrophied, or rudimentary condition, and the appendix has long been characterised as such a tissue. The work of Dr’s William Parker and Randall Bollinger have raised a number of interesting observations that indicate this tissue should be given an updated and relevant title.
To coin a phrase it is a ‘reservoir of dogs bacteria’, providing a safe repository or bank of bacterial species able to re-colonise in the event of a traumatic disruption of the microbial mix, such as that experienced after diahorrea or antibiotic use.[1]
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Oral Glutathione Equivalent to IV Therapy!
Michael Ash BSc DO ND F.DipION and Marty Jones PharmD review the changing face of glutathione and explore the acetylated form as an alternative to IV glutathione therapy.
Reduced glutathione also known as glutathione or GSH is found in all living systems.[1] Lowered tissue GSH levels have been observed in several disease conditions.[2] The restoration of cell GSH levels in a number of these conditions have proven to be beneficial. Thus, strategies to boost cell glutathione level are of marked therapeutic significance.
GSH is the smallest of the intracellular thiols (a compound that contains the functional group composed of a sulphur-hydrogen bond (-SH) hence its unpleasant smell when mercaptans are released) and its high donating electron capacity combined with dense intracellular concentration provides significant oxidative reducing capacity.[3]
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In Utero Exposures and Future Medical and Ideological Risks
The fact we are not ill more often is due to the remarkable capacity our bodies have to revert to a state of ‘homeostasis’ – a somewhat dull word provided by Walter Cannon in the early 20th century to summarise the work of the physiologist Claude Bernard who was based in Paris in the 1850s. It has dominated biology, physiology and medicine ever since. Homeostasis is regularly used to describe the exquisite intrinsic ability we possess to respond to, counteract and adapt to external and internal sources of damage and disturbance to maintain health/function in us and other living organisms.
A more contemporary – albeit controversial term to describe this is: ‘Homeodynamics’.[1] This is the concept that we are not static but constantly adapting. Homeodynamics, accounts for the fact that the internal milieu of complex biological systems is not permanently fixed, is not at equilibrium, and is subject to dynamic regulation and interaction among various levels of organisation. Aging, senescence and death are the final manifestations of unsuccessful homeodynamics and in utero exposure represents the first opportunity and experience for remodelling and constant adaptation.
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Mechanism of Fatty Acids Anti Inflammatory Effects – Explained?
Most Nutritional Therapists are comfortable in the concept and application of concentrated essential fatty acids especially fish oils as a means of altering abnormal inflammatory pathways in the body. Some EFA’s are perceived to be anti-inflammatory and others pro-inflammatory. Whilst the simplistic dichotomy of interpretation (Omega 3 Anti/Omega 6 Pro) has kept many a student content that they have mastered the art of complex fatty acid biochemistry – the reality is that cell membranes operate in a state of competitive inhibition with fatty acids of all carbon chain lengths and their role is highly sophisticated and complementary.
So…the paper out in the journal Cell this month (Sept 2010) from the lab of Prof. Olefsky at the University of California is a really exciting addition to the extensive research available – in that it elegantly describes a key anti-inflammatory mechanism using a G-protein coupled receptor.[1]
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Massage Beneficially Impacts Immune Response.
There are very few people that do not like to have a massage, and those of us that do – me, me, me, now have an extra justification for throwing yourself onto the nearest couch and shouting “fetch the oil, I’m ready for basting”.
Published in the Sept Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2010 a paper suggests that a single session of Swedish Massage Therapy produces measurable biologic effects.[1] The intervention tested was 45 minutes of Swedish Massage Therapy versus a light touch control condition, using highly specified and identical protocols.
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Does Junk Food increase the risk of Allergies and IBD?
As discussed here on many occasions it is well recognised that developed countries are suffering from an epidemic rise in immunologic disorders, such as allergy-related diseases and certain auto-immunities. One of the proposed explanations and one that I feel most convinced about is the changing composition of our intestinal microflora and parasite burden. Our intestinal ecological changes appear to be altering our ability to manage appropriate immunomodulatory responses to various ingested and inhaled antigens.
The Proceedings of The National Academy of Science Journal published a paper this June 2010 exploring the differences in the microbial communities between those children on a western style diet and those from a rural African community whose diet reflected that of a the early humans – high in fibre.[1]
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Vegas, Pregnancy, Immunity and Allergy Prevention!
The saying is ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’, or if you are English ‘what happens in Blackpool….’ but the same cannot be said about what happens in utero, as increasing evidence supports the understanding that the maternal nutritional environment and early feeding affects the health of the foetus beyond infancy and into adulthood.[1],[2] An article in Nature’s Mucosal Immunology this month explores some of the key events in foetal and neonatal immune management.[3] It stimulated a revisit to the area of what to consider for parents to be and mums of young children when they ask ‘is there anything I can do to prevent or reduce the risk of allergy or atopy in my child’.
The first moments, weeks and months of life can determine the health outcomes of an individual over the duration of their lifetime and this knowledge represents a significant choice for prospective parents. Fortunately the remarkable adaptability of the immune and central nervous system means that there are numerous opportunities in the early years of life to positively influence health outcomes even if the early stages were less than optimal.
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Vitamin D Halves Asthma Hospitalisation Risk
There seems no end to the illnesses this secasteroid is capable of influencing, although it should be of no real surprise that Vit D deficiency is linked to the respiratory condition asthma. The reason….mucosal tissues such as those found in the lung are rich with immune receptors that are intimately tied into the Vit D receptor family. Vitamin D up regulates a specific gene that produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, some of which work like a broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Because of its beneficial role in respiratory tract infections and immune system modulation, it has been hypothesised that vitamin D status might affect the risks for exacerbations.[1] This paper shows show that children with initial circulating vitamin D levels of 30 ng/mL or less (vitamin D insufficiency) have a 50% greater risk for severe exacerbation over the course of a 4-year clinical trial of asthma treatment than children with circulating vitamin D levels of 30 ng/mL or greater (vitamin D sufficiency) at the start of the trial.
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The immune system is prone to the same grave misfortunes as any defense system handling weapons: collateral damage that comes with the destruction of the enemy on one’s own territory and friendly fire due to mistaken identity. Whereas the collateral damage is the price we pay for clearance of infections, autoimmunity is a pathological process. Nevertheless, the effector mechanisms involved in both processes are the same. Whether environment can be a cause, a trigger or an amplifier of an autoimmune disease are questions that are being intensively investigated.
