Processed foods linked to autoimmune diseases

A STUDY of how processed food affects the body has led researchers to believe that additives weaken the intestine’s resistance to bacteria, toxins, other hostile nutritional and not nutritional elements. This weakening may cause the development of autoimmune diseases, or conditions in which the body attacks and damages its own tissues.

Focusing on the growing use of industrial food additives made to enhance taste, smell, texture and shelf life, the researchers found “…a significant circumstantial connection between the increased use of processed foods and the increase in the incidence of autoimmune diseases.”

They said at least seven common food additives weaken the tight-junctions: glucose (sugars), sodium (salt), fat solvents (emulsifiers), organic acids, gluten, microbial transglutaminase (a special enzyme that serves as food protein “glue”) and nanometric particles.

“In recent decades there has been a decrease in incidence of infectious diseases, but at the same time there has been an increase in the incidence of allergic diseases, cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Professor Aaron Lerner, of the Technion Faculty of Medicine and Carmel Medical Center, Haifa. “Since the weight of genetic changes is insignificant in such a short period, the scientific community is searching for the causes at the environmental level.”

The research team identified more than 100 such diseases, including type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune hepatitis, and Crohn’s disease.

It was noted that many autoimmune diseases come about when the functioning of the tight-junctions is compromised. The tight-junctions act as a barrier against bacteria, toxins, allergens and carcinogens, in order to protect the immune system from them. Damage to the tight-junctions (also known as “leaky gut”) can lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.

“Control and enforcement agencies such as the FDA stringently supervise the pharmaceutical industry, but the food additive market remains unsupervised enough,” said Prof. Lerner. “We hope this study and similar studies increase awareness about the dangers inherent in industrial food additives, and raise awareness about the need for control over them.”

Published in Autoimmunity Reviews earlier last year, the research was led by Prof. Lerner.  Dr. Torsten Matthias of the Aesku-Kipp Institute (Germany) also shared his expertise in the study.