Biopharmacy will soon predominate treatment once the genome is mapped and DNA packets are linked to specific diseases. Even within diseases there are disease subtypes, or immunogenotypes. One disease whose HLA (human leukocyte antigen) has been immunogenotyped, irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea with HLA-DQ/8-positive, was found to be particularly vulnerable to mucosal permeability. Although the effects of gluten intake have not been widely studied, in this study, "It is plausible that the link between gluten or gliadin and inflammation may be the increase in intestinal permeability, which is well established in celiac disease," (1). Looking also to the role of gluten in metabolic syndrome with the contribution of obesity to inflammatory sequelae, another study found, that "gluten-free animals showed a reduction in body weight gain and adiposity, without changes in food intake or lipid excretion. These results were associated with up-regulation of PPAR-alpha, LPL, HSL and CPT-1, which are related to lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation," (2). Between these two studies an alert is sounded to the likely role of gluten in inflammation.
1. Association of HLA-DQ gene with bowel transit, barrier
function, and inflammation in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea Maria I. Vazquez-Roque, et
al American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver PhysiologyDec 2012,303(11)G1262-G1269;DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00294.2012
2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2012.08.009
This article was really interesting...I mean wow, who knew gluten had such an effect on the human body. So the question is, is gluten free diet so helpful because it promotes intestinal health by preventing build up of gluten byproducts which down regulation PPAR-gamma thereby inhibiting lipid metabolism or are their other benefits?
ReplyDeleteI believe it! My roommate has celiac disease and she eats about 4 times as much as me but she probably weighs only 100 lbs! Gluten free food is really expensive so it encourages her to eat more healthy foods which do not have bread or bread substitutes in too much of an extent.
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