In mice, the lack of nutrients found in cruciferous vegetables could aggravate skin allergies.
- The lack of food compounds, found in broccoli and cabbage, in the diet could aggravate skin allergies.
- When these nutrients are absent, an overproduction of a molecule called “TGF-beta” is observed in the epidermis of mice. The latter disrupts the normal functioning of a population of immune cells.
- To limit allergic skin reactions, it is therefore necessary to adopt a balanced diet.
Skin allergies are skin reactions that can be caused by different factors, including allergens, irritants or hormonal changes. “Dietary compounds may affect the development of inflammatory responses. However, the mechanisms involved remain incompletely understood,” indicated researchers from Inserm and the Curie Institute of the Immunity and Cancer laboratory.
Nutrients naturally present in broccoli and cabbage
In a recent study, published in the journal Elife, they focused on a molecule present in the body, called “aromatic hydrocarbon receptor” (AhR), on which the food compounds contained in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli or cabbage, act. Next, the scientists worked from a skin allergy model in mice. Some rodents were fed a diet containing no compound that activates the AhR receptor to assess the impact this might have on the severity of their allergy.
Skin: the absence of food compounds exacerbates allergic responses
According to the work, the absence of food compounds found in broccoli and cabbage could aggravate the skin allergy by increasing the state of inflammation in the skin. When these nutrients are absent, an overproduction of a molecule, called “TGF-beta”, is observed in the epidermis of mice. It disrupts the normal functioning of a population of immune cells that are present in the skin and function as a modulator of skin immune responses.
A balanced diet to limit skin allergies
“Our results suggest that an unbalanced diet could increase allergic skin reactions in humans through mechanisms that we have precisely described. Schematically, we could say that our work helps to explain why eating vegetables like broccoli and cabbage can limit the severity of skin allergies and why it is therefore important to include them in your diet”, explained Élodie Segura, Inserm researcher and author of the study, in a statement.
