How Gut Microbes Support Immunity And Susceptibility To Allergies

Emerging evidence has linked allergies and immunity with our gut microbes. Currently allergies are a public health issue which is projected to become more prevalent in society in the coming years. Roughly one billion people suffer from some sort of allergy so if you have an allergy then you are definitely not alone. Current estimates predict that this figure could reach four billion in the next 30 or 40 years.

Allergic diseases are an immune response to a substance which goes beyond a usual immune response from the average person. These substances are called allergens. Allergic diseases present themselves with characteristic immune system disruptions in identifying disease causing substances. Other immune system issues result from this such as excessive inflammation.

Chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular diseases are also projected to rise in years to come. Allergic disease responses share features with some chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease. These both present themselves with low systemic inflammation within the body. They also seem to share a characteristic breakdown in immune system regulation and function.

An unusually heightened immune system is a driver of allergic responses in the body. Gut microbes could influence immune responses and systemic inflammation. Gut microbes have therefore emerged as an influencing factor on the development of allergies.

Here the effects of our gut microbiota or gut ecosystem and gut bacteria on allergies will be summarized to show you how important gut microbes are in allergic responses.

Immunity And Allergies

Allergies essentially result from an unusual body immune response to a substance. These substances are then called allergens as they disturb the immune system.

Some of the more common allergens include pollen, dust mites, animal hairs and some foods. Immune system antibody responses are initiated in response to proteins from these substances. This triggers the immunoallergic response cascade and shows how crucial the immune system is in supporting allergies.

On repeated exposure to allergens like dust mites allergic individuals then experience an excessive inflammatory response. Symptoms can include wheezing or skin irritation. Most people don’t experience these inflammatory responses. Some of the released immune system molecules include histamine and inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6. There is also often a reduction in inflammatory reducing cytokines such as IL-10.

The immune response associated with allergies is essential for our survival from disease causing organisms but of course with unusual immune function and regulation could result in issues like allergies. This is like how cancer develops from unregulated cell growth.

Immune dysregulation contributes to chronic inflammatory diseases as well as allergic responses. Excessive immunoinflammatory responses are a massive cause and effect of allergies.

How Our Gut Microbes Influence Allergies

Our gut microbes are thought to be a partial cause of rises in allergies globally. Health harming gut microbes cause strong immune and inflammatory responses. This heightens the immune system and is how gut microbes may influence allergies. Children with airway allergies sometimes present with high levels of more health harming gut microbes.

Research also shows that gut microbiomes with reduced gut microbes such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria had higher risk of atopic dermatitis which could increase vulnerability to allergies. American adults with nut and pollen allergies had low diversities of certain gut microbes in their microbiomes.

You often see chronic inflammation in some chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and in people with gut bacterial imbalances. Because of this these could both contribute to a heightened risk of allergies. Immune dysregulation is a driver of an inflammatory state in both cases.

Excessive pro inflammatory cytokine responses from oxidative stress or other factors causes the progression of multiple chronic diseases including allergies. Interestingly people who are obese or suffer from cardiovascular disease have similar gut microbial disruptions to those with allergies.

Health promoting gut microbes are able to rebalance the regulation of the immune system and are suppressors of excessive inflammation. Gut microbes are able to do this via competitive inhibition of disease causing microbes and an inflammation suppressing restoration of intestinal health.

Some gut microbes regulate intestinal cell immune function and modulate immune antigen presentation through microbial compounds. This is a core means as to how gut microbes are able to lower inflammation caused damaged and influence allergies.

Leaky Gut And Allergies

The health of our intestines is often overlooked but leaky gut can occur when harmful bacteria or other microbes invade intestinal wall cells and this could influence risk of allergies.

Our intestinal contents can then leech into the blood where whole proteins cause immune and allergic responses. Inflammatory molecules are released by the body such as interleukin-6 or IL-6, C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor. This is often how food allergies occur and the resulting systemic inflammation encourages the onset of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Systemic inflammation could also lead to inflammaging. This is essentially inflammation and oxidative stress mediated aging. Metabolic inflammation or metaflammation is a low grade systemic inflammatory response. This often occurs in people who over eat or are obese and stresses the mitochondria into malfunction. These individual also experience elevated reactive oxygen species levels. Increased inflammatory feedback from this could also increase risk of food or other allergies.

How You Can Encourage Health Supportive Gut Microbes

Now you’ve seen how health promoting gut microbes could mitigate systemic inflammation and lower susceptibility to allergies. Gut microbes play a complex and dynamic role in maintaining our health. They form a health promoting gut microbiome within the intestines of our body.

You are actually able to influence the abundance and composition of your gut microbes. One way you could do this is through your diet to support your immune system and reduce allergy susceptibility. Some people may need more gut health support than others because of their circumstances.

Some innovative ways to improve your gut microbiome health is to adopt an inflammatory preventative diet. You could also take pre or probiotic supplements and consume pre or probiotic foods. Research presents gut microbial support as a promising approach for restoring immune balances which affect allergy susceptibility.

Studies show that a high fibre diet modifies gut microbe composition and alters the ratio of some health influencing bacteria within the gut microbiome. Dietary fibres are prebiotic. This means they support gut microbes with the nutrients needed for growth. Dietary fibres support our gut microbes so they can produce more fatty acids. This may encourage healthy immune system regulation and is one means as to how gut microbes could influence risk of allergies.

One study showed that higher gut bacterial fatty acids in the blood from the gut microbiome protected the airways from allergic inflammation. This is one means as to how gut microbes may be preventative of risk of developing allergies as we age. Current studies show that bacterial fatty acids may be preventative of food allergies.

Allergies could appear at any life stage. Some studies suggest that children who are breast fed may have higher levels of certain gut bacteria linked to improved immune modulation. They may also have higher desensitization to some allergies because of variations in gut microbes but this could depend on circumstances.

Overall research with allergies shows that certain gut microbes may mitigate systemic inflammation and lower susceptibility to allergies.

Summary

There is an ever increasing amount of research linking allergies and our gut microbes. The number of people suffering from allergic responses is expected to rise along with the cases of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Allergies result from unusual body immune responses to a substance which are then allergens to the body. Some of the most common allergens include pollen, animal hairs, dust mites and certain foods. Inflammatory compounds released into the blood in response to allergens include inflammatory cytokines and histamine. Excessive immunoinflammatory responses are a massive cause and consequential effect of allergies.

Gut microbes are thought to be able to influence allergy instances and responses. Health promoting gut microbes are able to reduce systemic inflammatory responses and may reduce allergy incidence. Studies have shown that gut microbe composition and abundance influences allergy incidence.

Gut microbes are able to regulate intestinal cell immune function and also support intestinal wall cells. Leaky gut can cause spikes in inflammatory molecule release such a C-reactive protein which increase allergy risk. Bacterial fatty acids are also thought to be preventative of food allergies.

You are able to influence the abundance and composition of your gut microbes. You are able to do this via dietary support and pro or prebiotic supplements. Dietary fibre is prebiotic and provides food for your health promoting gut microbes to grow which may reduce risk of allergies.

Overall research with allergies presents health promoting gut microbes as being able to mitigate systemic inflammation and lower susceptibility to allergies.

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