Diets? Spill the IMMUNI-tea!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Many diets are used as treatments, therapies, magical wishes – there’re so many trends! But how does the immune system respond?
Verena Link and team at N-I-H Bethesda researched how vegan and ketogenic diets affect immunity. Ketogenic diets are high-fat and low-carb, meaning more protein and less fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, vegan diets are strictly plant-based.
For four weeks, twenty volunteers randomly followed one diet and then switched to the other. Blood and fecal samples were then collected.
Results? BOTH diets acted on the immune system in distinct ways!
Vegan diets increased the immune system’s non-specific first line of defense. Keto diets enhanced infection-specific cells and changed gut bacteria populations!
This study shows how our FUEL impacts our BODIES. More work is needed to know if these changes are beneficial or not. But future research might reveal the key to immune-boosting diets!
Seconds of everything? Absolutely! I feel a cold coming on!
Reference: Link, V.M., Subramanian, P., Cheung, F. et al. Differential peripheral immune signatures elicited by vegan versus ketogenic diets in humans. Nat Med 30, 560–572 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02761-2