Global Spread Of Autoimmune Disease Blamed On Western Diet
Last edited Sun Jan 9, 2022, 02:12 PM - Edit history (2)
- The Guardian, Jan. 9, 2022. - New DNA research by London-based scientists hopes to find cure for rapidly spreading conditions. -
More and more people around the world are suffering because their immune systems can no longer tell the difference between healthy cells and invading micro-organisms. Disease defences that once protected them are instead attacking their tissue and organs. Major international research efforts are being made to fight this trend – including an initiative at London’s Francis Crick Institute, where two world experts, James Lee and Carola Vinuesa, have set up separate research groups to help pinpoint the precise causes of autoimmune disease, as these conditions are known.
“Numbers of autoimmune cases began to increase about 40 years ago in the west,” Lee told the Observer. “However, we are now seeing some emerge in countries that never had such diseases before.
For example, the biggest recent increase in inflammatory bowel disease cases has been in the Middle East and east Asia. Before that they had hardly seen the disease.” Autoimmune diseases range from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. In each case, the immune system gets its wires crossed and turns on healthy tissue instead of infectious agents. In the UK alone, at least 4 million people have developed such conditions, with some individuals suffering more than one. Internationally, it is now estimated that cases of autoimmune diseases are rising by between 3% and 9% a year. Most scientists believe environmental factors play a key role in this rise.
“Human genetics hasn’t altered over the past few decades,” said Lee, who was previously based at Cambridge University. “So something must be changing in the outside world in a way that is increasing our predisposition to autoimmune disease.” This idea was backed by Vinuesa, who was previously based at the Australian National University. She pointed to changes in diet that were occurring as more and more countries adopted western-style diets and people bought more fast food. “Fast-food diets lack certain important ingredients, such as fibre, and evidence suggests this alteration affects a person’s microbiome – the collection of micro-organisms that we have in our gut and which play a key role in controlling various bodily functions,” Vinuesa said.
“These changes in our microbiomes are then triggering autoimmune diseases, of which more than 100 types have now been discovered. ”Both scientists stressed that individual susceptibilities were involved in contracting such illnesses...
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/08/global-spread-of-autoimmune-disease-blamed-on-western-diet
= new reply since forum marked as read
in the western diet as you say from use in corn, soybeans, canola and drying wheat stalks before harvesting. It's a touchy subject to some esp. with the influence Monsanto has worldwide. EcoWatch, good link, tx.
Anyway, I'm glad to see medical experts working on more research and therapies. It would be great if we could wind down the unhealthy processed food system as well, somehow. Slowly people are becoming educated, but much, much more effort is needed in the MSM and many communities.
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- EWG, More than 40 nations, including the European Union countries, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Japan and China, label genetically modified organisms, also known as genetically engineered food. Polls show that more than 9 of 10 Americans want labeling of GMOs. Over the past year, more than 1 million Americans have signed a petition asking the federal Food and Drug Administration to require it.
- 5 Things You Should Know About GMOs: The supermarket (and likely your breakfast) is full of GMOs. The most common genetically engineered ingredients -- corn, soy and canola oil -- find their way into 70% of popular processed food like breakfast cereal, cookies, chips, soda and frozen meals. Biotechnology companies are lobbying the government to let them market new crops and a genetically engineered fish. - The long-term safety of genetically engineered foods has not been proved.
When government agencies approve GMOs, they rely on quick studies involving short-lived laboratory animals. These cannot determine the long-term consequences when people eat genetically engineered foods over a lifetime. Some scientists have observed changes in the metabolism of animals fed genetically engineered foods. These alterations may indicate a risk to human health—we just don’t know.
GMOs encourage the development of superweeds and harm biodiversity. Many genetically engineered crops are engineered to withstand high doses of pesticides like Roundup...
https://www.ewg.org/consumer-guides/five-things-you-should-know-about-gmos