Junk food linked to intestinal disease and allergies--study

According to researchers, a western diet high in sugar, animal fats, and calorie-dense foods lower the numbers of healthy bacteria in human gut which help in food digestion, protect against pathogens, and reduce the risk of inflammation.

Lead author of the study, Paolo Lionetti, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Meyer Children Hospital in Florence, Italy stated, "Western developed countries successfully controlled infectious diseases during the second half of the last century, by improving sanitation and using antibiotics and vaccines.

"At the same time, a rise in new diseases such as allergic, autoimmune disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) both in adults and in children has been observed, and it is hypothesized that improvements in hygiene together with decreased microbial exposure in childhood are considered responsible for this increase.”

A comparative study conducted
The researchers conducted a study to determine whether decreased microbe exposure is responsible for autoimmune disorders, inflammatory bowel disease and allergies.

They studied the gut microbes of 30 healthy children aged one to six from a village in Burkina Faso, in western Africa, and compared that with Italian children.

The staple diet of the African children was high-fiber and low-fat mainly consisting of vegetables cereals beans and nuts whereas the Italian kids had a typical Western diet, low in fiber but high in animal protein, sugar, starch, and fat.

The African kids had high concentrates of bacteria that help in the digestion of plant foods. These microbes generate fatty acids that give energy and help stave off illnesses such as allergies and inflammatory bowel disease.

Revelations of the study
Scientists found striking differences in the composition of bacteria inhabiting the digestive systems of the kids from the two regions.

It was observed that the African kids had more of the good bacterial strains which were absent in European children.

The African kids had high concentrates of bacteria that help in the digestion of plant foods. These microbes generate fatty acids that give energy and help stave off illnesses such as allergies and inflammatory bowel disease.

They also had lesser bacteria that cause common stomach upsets and diarrhea, such as Shigella and Escherichia, the E.coli bug.

Study co-author Duccio Cavalieri, a microbiologist at the University of Florence in Italy stated, “This discovery is very important because it bears on how we should feed our children to make them healthy.

“We should move our habits toward a diet more heavy in fiber, with the same amount of calories.”

The results are published online August 2 in the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.'