Environmental and Microbial Drivers Implicated in Food Sensitivities and Intolerances

Society: AGA

Around 20% of the population experience adverse reactions to foods. These can be divided into food sensitivities (immune-mediated) and intolerances (non-immune mediated). The most well characterized food sensitivities are celiac disease and food allergy, the latter mediated by IgE. In addition, many patients diagnosed with functional or inflammatory intestinal disorders frequently report adverse reactions to foods. However, the mechanistic pathways involved in the generation of these adverse reactions are not well understood.The increase in prevalence in food sensitivities and other adverse reactions in the last decades cannot be explained by genetic drift, and recent studies point at different environmental factors such as diet, stress and microbes as important players. Precise mechanisms by which infections and the intestinal microbiota participate in the development of adverse reactions are emerging. In this session, we will cover the main microbial pathways involved in well defined food sensitivities such as celiac disease and allergy. We will also discuss potential environmental drivers implicated in adverse reactions to foods in inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal functional disorders. The goal is to identify potential preventive and therapeutic targets to reduce adverse reactions to foods in gastrointestinal conditions.