Scientists Officially Link Processed Foods To Autoimmune Disease

[zenmaster]

The modern diet of processed foods, takeaways and microwave meals could be to blame for a sharp increase in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, including alopecia, asthma and eczema.

A team of scientists from Yale University in the U.S and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany, say junk food diets could be partly to blame.

http://www.trueactivist.com/scientists-o...e-disease/

[Aloysius]

there's a whole bunch of reasons for the reduced defensive capabilities of the immune system in the body but I'm glad that this factor is being more recognised. Cheers for the link Zen, interesting stuff

[spero]

It took me a few too many clicks to find the peer reviewed article this piece alludes to

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v49...11868.html

[zenmaster]

there's a whole bunch of reasons for the reduced defensive capabilities of the immune system in the body but I'm glad that this factor is being more recognised.

I'm not sure what to make of their findings. They fed mice a bunch of salt (sodium chloride), but did they determine how much equivalent salt intake causes the same pathology in humans? Someone on the nature.com site said the equivalent dosage for a 70kg person would be .5kg of salt per day.

[reeay]

I would think they scaled it properly to maintain validity of findings....

Although the underlying genetic basis of this class of diseases has recently been elucidated, implicating predominantly immune-response genes1, changes in environmental factors must ultimately be driving this increase.

It's interesting bc this is environmental factors... I'm assuming that those who have genetic predisposition for these types of illnesses have a higher chance of 'manifesting' such illnesses due to environmental factors such as too much unnatural salt intake. I wonder if these rats had genetic predisposition or if they were mixed, and if they were a mixed group (have predisposition and not have), whether occurance of autoimmune illnesses were seen in both groups?

[Oldern]

Poor mice

[Diana]

Specific findings such as these data are always questionable. On the other hand, common sense alone and a bit of thinking will tell you that processed foods will impair the immune system, simply because eating them taxes the system.

No need to torture mice to find out the obvious.

Stay out of the middle of the grocery store.

[AnthroHeart]

So processed foods are a slow suicide?

[Diana]

So processed foods are a slow suicide?

The human body can take a lot of abuse and regenerate. Metabolism itself creates waste and cells mutate as well (and copy themselves that way). If the body is spending all its energy just trying to continually digest foods and make use of substandard sustenance, there is little left to do its normal job of regenerating itself efficiently.

To have optimal health and feel well, it's best not to tax the digestive system; make it easier to extract nutrition. If your liver and kidneys are trying to filter out the toxins in processed foods, or simply break down the artificial combinations to get to a tiny bit of nutrition, every day--they are overworked (and that's just one aspect of the possible damage). The best way to get nutrition is from a whole food in its natural form as the components all work together in harmony, balance. Lower on the food chain is better as well, as you are getting closer to the original sustenance: the sun.

The old adage goes: you wouldn't put bad fuel in your car.

[reeay]

What Happens In Your Body When You Eat Ramen And Gatorade

TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow Stefani Bardin’s video, below, shows what happens in your body when you eat processed foods vs. homemade versions of similar foods, using a tiny “M2A” (that stands for Mouth to Anus, and it’s trademarked, mind you) LED/camera capsule. The project looks at two subjects eating two similar meals: one composed of processed foods (gatorade, ramen, and gummi bears); the other of homemade versions (hibiscus drink, homemade broth with noodles and gummi bears made of juice). What happens to the foods is drastically different; possibly because, as Bardin puts it, Top Ramen is made to survive armageddon, while homemade noodles are made to be eaten.

Just a visual to show how processed foods is digested vs. how whole foods are digested.

[isis]

Top Ramen is made to survive armageddon,...

wow...i just had ramen last night, for the 1st time in years. thanks for sharing this!