Eating too much meat could affect the gut microbiome and be linked to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
- A recent study suggests a link between high meat consumption and an increased risk of multiple sclerosis
- Meat products consumed in large quantities could also affect the intestinal microbiome
Published in the journal eBioMedicine, an American research suggests that a diet rich in meat would be linked to multiple sclerosis (MS). To verify the existence of such a correlation, the researchers recruited 49 participants. Almost half of them (24) had MS, while the other 25 volunteers were in good health.
The gut microbiome genome of all participants was studied, as well as their blood inflammatory markers. Study participants were also asked to write down what they ate at each meal for four days. The researchers then used all these parameters to carry out analyzes and look for cause and effect links.
The results obtained from the 49 participants suggest that autoimmune disorders could be correlated with the foods we eat and changes in the intestinal ecosystem, which leads to an increase in pro-inflammatory markers in the blood.
Gut microbiome imbalance
In patients with multiple sclerosis, regular meat consumption has been associated with a decrease in the abundance of certain bacteria in the intestine (whose role is to digest carbohydrates), as well as a higher level of pro-inflammatory signal molecules in the blood. According to the researchers, changes in gut bacteria were linked to the severity of multiple sclerosis symptoms in affected patients.
“This is the first study using an integrated approach to analyze the interplay between diet, gut microbiome, immune system and metabolism and their contribution to pathogenesis and disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis“, underlines Laura Piccio, associate professor and corresponding author of the study.
The study therefore highlights the possibility of a strong link between high meat consumption and levels of inflammatory markers in the blood, which could be explained by an imbalance in the gut microbiome. While the limited sample of this research only allows causalities to be established, it nevertheless underlines the importance of taking into account multiple variables in the study of complex diseases such as MS, believe the authors.
