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Certain types of fiber promote inflammation in some people with inflammatory bowel disease
People suffering from inflammatory bowel disease could soon have access to personalized dietary guidelines to help them feel their best, thanks to new research into how fiber affects the disease. The research team discovered that certain types of fiber cause an inflammatory response in some patients, leading to worsening symptoms. They are now working on developing a stool test to examine the microbes found in each patient's gut to predict who will have the negative reaction so they can tailor nutritional recommendations and treatments for individual patients. Approximately 0.7 percent of the Canadian population, or one in 150 people, has IBD, including Crohn's disease...
Certain types of fiber promote inflammation in some people with inflammatory bowel disease
People suffering from inflammatory bowel disease could soon have access to personalized dietary guidelines to help them feel their best, thanks to new research into how fiber affects the disease.
The research team discovered that certain types of fiber cause an inflammatory response in some patients, leading to worsening symptoms.
They are now working on developing a stool test to examine the microbes found in each patient's gut to predict who will have the negative reaction so they can tailor nutritional recommendations and treatments for individual patients.
Approximately 0.7 percent of the Canadian population, or one in 150 people, has IBD, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and that number is predicted to increase to one percent by 2030.
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IBD symptoms can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, weight loss, late puberty, and a long-term risk of colon cancer. The exact cause is unknown, but some risk factors include genetics, diet, environmental factors and changes in gut microbes.
"We know that consuming fiber has health benefits and promotes good gut health in healthy individuals, but IBD patients quite commonly complain of sensitivity when consuming fiber," says Heather Armstrong, who began the research as a postdoctoral fellow at the U of A and is now an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in Integrative Bioscience. “We really wanted to understand the mechanisms behind it.”
By creating this stool test, we hope to tell you how to adjust your diet to prevent flare-ups or further deterioration. It's a dynamic situation, so it's possible that you should avoid a certain food now, but in a few months you'll be able to eat it again."
Eytan Wine, Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, U of A
Researchers have found that certain types of fibers found in foods such as artichokes, chicory roots, garlic, asparagus and bananas are particularly difficult to ferment when certain microbes are missing or not functioning properly, as is often the case in IBD patients.
Fiber has beneficial anti-inflammatory effects and aids digestion in most healthy people, but researchers have found that select unfermented fiber increases inflammation and worsens symptoms in some IBD patients.
“We want to start by figuring out why 20 to 40 percent of patients experience hypersensitivities,” says Armstrong, “while in the other half of patients, this fiber actually benefits health and protects against the disease and can have very positive effects.”
Wine and Armstrong both warn that the new dietary guidelines will not replace drug treatments but should complement them so patients can avoid flare-ups and get back into remission more quickly when they have inflammation.
Source:
Reference:
Armstrong, H.K., et al. (2022) Unfermented β-fructan fibers promote inflammation in selected patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2022.09.034.
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