Functional Medicine aims to build on a firm foundation of root cause therapies so that our patients can look forward to long term recovery from chronic illness. When we see conventional medicine employing those same principles in research and potential clinical applications, we applaud their efforts. In this example of innovative utilizations of how our gut microbiome interacts with our immune system, researchers developed a delivery system for food allergens using a common fiber called inulin. By imbedding the allergens in this ubiquitous fiber they were able to induce immune tolerance to these foods that otherwise cause major symptoms for the food allergy sufferers.
As the article reminds us, approximately 1 in 4 children currently suffer from food allergies- as well as about 1 in 4 in adults. These allergies can go beyond upset stomachs or rashes to included death by anaphylaxis. At the very least, they force the individual to live with their allergen radar on 24/7 in order to avoid unwanted exposures.
A variety of therapies are available to control food allergies both after symptoms occur and ongoing therapies to pre-empt an attack, but truly turning off the reactions has been a challenge. Various protocols are used to desensitize a person through allergy shots or oral allergen challenges. Now researchers hope that they are on to a new means of harnessing the gut microbiome to modulate the immune system so that it stops reacting so severely to these food allergens that should be innocuous.
Inulin can be found in a number of plants as well as on the labels of many GI supplements as a prebiotic and sometimes added as a mild sweetener. Like other fibers, it feeds a variety of gut bacteria, influencing the microbial balance of our intestinal bacterial friends.
Researchers developed a gel based on inulin in which they would then imbed food allergens. Using lab mice who had food allergies, they would feed this allergen laced inulin gel to the mice. The food allergens included peanuts, eggs, and milk.
The inulin appeared to alter the small intestinal bacteria balance in a way that increased tolerance to these foods. Specific bacterial species increased in the mice intestines. Then the intestinal immune system responded to the food allergens with less of an antibody-based type 2 response.
How all this works exactly is still being worked out as various immune messengers called cytokines (like interleukins and interferons) have been found to be altered by this therapy. The most exciting result is that even after the inulin gel therapy is discontinued, the oral tolerance to the allergens appears to continue long term. It seems a potentially permanent switch is flipped.
In the end, helping patients live healthier, more abundant lives requires a foundation of good gut health. We applaud our conventional medicine colleagues for this work and look forward to helping our patients using inulin to dampen their food allergies.
Original Article:
Kai Han, Fang Xie, Olamide Animasahun, Minal Nenwani, Sho Kitamoto, Yeji Kim, May Thazin Phoo, Jin Xu, Fulei Wuchu, Kehinde Omoloja, Abhinav Achreja, Srinadh Choppara, Zhaoheng Li, Wang Gong, Young Seok Cho, Hannah Dobson, Jinsung Ahn, Xingwu Zhou, Xuehui Huang, Xinran An, Alexander Kim, Yao Xu, Qi Wu, Soo-Hong Lee, Jessica J. O’Konek, Yuying Xie, Yu Leo Lei, Nobuhiko Kamada, Deepak Nagrath, James J. Moon. Inulin-gel-based oral immunotherapy remodels the small intestinal microbiome and suppresses food allergy. Nature Materials, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-01909-w
Thanks to Science Daily:
University of Michigan. “Could a dietary fiber supplement offer long-awaited treatment for food allergy sufferers?.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 July 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240709184219.htm>
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
