BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: gluten-free

Exposure to Certain Bacteria Can Lead to the Development of Celiac Disease

In a study published by the Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, researchers have found that bacterial exposure is a potential environmental risk factor, leading to the development of Celiac Disease. Scientists believe that this discovery can lead to diagnostic or therapeutic approaches to the illness.  

Celiac Disease affects about one in 40 Australians and about half are born with about one of two genes that cause the disease. People suffering from Celiac Disease must follow a strict non-gluten diet, as any amount of gluten can trigger health problems. Scientists have known for a while that environmental factors trigger Celiac Disease, alongside the genetic predispositions, but were unaware of exactly what the environmental causes was.

To conduct the study, researchers showed how, at a molecular level, receptors that were isolated from immune T from Celiac Disease recognized pieces of protein from certain bacteria that mimic gluten. The results showed that exposure to such bacteria may play a role in the recognition of gluten by the same T cells when individuals with a predisposition eat any amount of gluten. Thus, the individual’s immune system reacts to the bacteria molecules and, in doing so, develops a reaction to gluten molecules because to the immune system the molecules are identical. 

With these results researchers have now linked microbial exposure as a possible environmental risk factor for Celiac Disease through a molecular foundation. 

The results of this study is extremely important as it can lead to new search in Celiac Disease and possibly new methods of prevention!

Vegan diet found to have the best health benefits

 

Vegetables

Many people have recently been trying a gluten-free diet in an attempt to be healthier, or for other personal reasons. Gluten is the basic protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale so those on that diet must avoid foods like bread, pasta, cereal, cake, essentially any carb. Carbohydrates seem to have a bad rep in our society and people often try very hard to keep them out of their diet. Some researchers even say that: “We’ve gotten somewhat carb-phobic here in the U.S. when it comes to weight loss”. 

A recent study led by researchers at the University of Southern California have found that a vegan diet even while consuming carbohydrates is best for “weight loss, decreased levels of saturated and unsaturated fat, lower BMI’s and improved macro nutrients.” This study showed that maybe people should be avoiding meat instead of carbs to improve their diet. While a vegan diet is not healthy for everyone, the study still introduced a new look on dieting and healthy eating.

The study randomly assigned one of five diets to several participants that were then followed for six months throughout the study. The five diets included vegan which bans all animal products, vegetarian which bans meat and seafood but allows animal products such as cheese and eggs, pesco-vegetarian which excludes all meat except seafood, semi-vegetarian with some meat intake, and omnivorous which excludes no foods. The participants were invited to weekly support groups throughout the study to make sure they followed their diet and also remained healthy.  At the end of the six months, the participants on the vegan diet lost more weight than the other groups by an average of 4.3%, or 16.5 lb. 

The leader of the study, Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy, was surprised by the outcome of the research. She thought the outcome of the pesco-diet would have been significantly higher than that of the meat-diet but it was not. The vegan diet was also high in carbohydrates. Turner-McGrievy was proud to say that “This study might help alleviate the fears of people who enjoy pasta, rice, and other grains but want to lose weight.”

I found this article to be very interesting because I have been following a pescetarian diet for about 11 months. I exclude meat in my diet but I still eat seafood and other animal products. My diet is also very high in carbohydrates because carbs are easy snacks. I am surprised yet pleased to see how little the effect of carb consumption had on the vegan diet.

 

Original Article:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141106101732.htm

 

Related Articles & Additional Information

http://www.thestate.com/2014/11/09/3802103/usc-study-finds-vegan-diet-most.html

http://www.medicaldaily.com/vegans-eat-carbs-and-still-lose-weight-why-you-should-give-diet-shot-310106

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

http://celiac.org/live-gluten-free/glutenfreediet/what-is-gluten/

http://www.veganhealth.org/

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