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Fast food fever: Reviewing the impacts of the Western Diet on immunity
While diet has emerged as a potential contributor to the rise in immune-mediated diseases, the focus of this 2014 article is the Western diet, a diet characterized by the low diversity and overconsumption of refined sugars, salt, and saturated fats. The main objective here was to explain the mechanisms by which the Western diet influences immune function. This review investigates how our bodies can be affected and damaged by eating excessive amounts of sugars, salts, and fats, and by consuming artificial sweeteners, gluten, and genetically modified foods. Regarding the current literature on the impact of macronutrients on the immune system, numerous aspects are limited to either animal or in vitro (not performed in live animals) studies, while there are also a few human trials. Furthermore, the author Myles examines the effect of diet on the gut microbiome (microbial communities in the intestines), and the mechanisms by which our poor dietary choices are encoded in our genes and our guts and can be passed on to our offspring. While the modern diet can provide protection from deficiencies in micronutrients and macronutrients, the excess intake of calories and some macronutrients can lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, higher risk of cancers, and greater odds of developing allergic and auto-inflammatory disease. [NPID: inflammation, immune system, immunity, western diet, diet, foods, sugars, salts, fats, saturated fat, sweeteners, gluten, GMF, nutrients, micronutrients, macronutrients, gut, microbiota, bacteria, genetics]
Year: 2014
