Is it possible to reverse food allergies? What causes specific food allergies?

What Causes Certain Food Allergies And Can It Be Reversed?

In order to potentially inhibit excessive reactivity to allergens, it is important to learn how the body's immune system "memorises" possible hazards.

Individuals with food sensitivities are aware of the risks associated with inadvertently consuming or coming into contact with foods they are sensitive to. A food allergy is defined by the Mayo Clinic as a "immune system reaction" that results from consuming a particular meal. As a matter of fact, ingestion of even minute amounts of the food that causes allergies might result in symptoms such as hives, enlarged airways, or digestive issues. It may result in severe symptoms or the potentially fatal reaction known as "anaphylaxis" in certain individuals. It follows that people who become ill after consuming a certain meal continue to act in an avoiding manner towards it.

According to a Yale School of Medical research that was published in the journal "Nature," the immune system is extremely important. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher, senior author of the study, and Sterling's team Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine, Ruslan Medzhitov, was reported as saying: "We discover that the immune system controls conduct, especially protective actions against contaminants that pass first through antigens and then to our brains."

The research has shown that in the absence of immune system communication, the brain does not alert the body to risks in its immediate environment and does not attempt to avert them.

A group working in the Medzhitov lab examined mice that had been sensitised to ova, a protein present in chicken eggs, in order to conduct their research. These mice, of course, shunned ova-laced water; control mice, on the other hand, liked it better. Researchers discovered that the sensitised mice's aversion to ova-laced water persisted for months. Next, scientists looked into whether modifying the mice's "immune system variables" might change their behaviour.

It's interesting to note that when the immune system's production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies was inhibited, the sensitised mice no longer felt any aversion. It is important to remember that IgE antibodies cause mast cells to release, which then communicate with immune system proteins and brain regions that regulate "aversion behaviour".

The mice were no longer avoiding the allergen in the absence of IgE.

According to Medzhitov, these results demonstrate that the immune system has "evolved" to assist animals in avoiding "dangerous ecological niches". In fact, it may one day be possible to inhibit severe reactions to a variety of allergens by comprehending how the immune system "memorises" future threats.