The benefits of a balanced diet are well established. But, scientists are even more precise. According to a new study carried out by researchers from Inserm and the Immunity and Cancer laboratory of the Institut Curie, published this Tuesday in the elife reviewNutrients found in broccoli and cabbage help reduce skin allergies in humans.
Until now it had been established that the diet could vary the severity of these allergies, without specifying the contribution of certain nutrients.
Therefore, the scientists focused on food compounds that act on a molecule present in the body, the “aromatic hydrocarbon receptor” (AhR), present in so-called cruciferous vegetables.
The risk of “unbalanced diet”
To study the influence of AhR receptors on skin allergies, the researchers worked on mice. Some animals were fed a diet that did not contain these nutrients.
Thus, they demonstrated that the absence of these nutrients is associated with “an increase in the state of inflammation in the skin and a worsening of skin allergy, which does not occur with mice that have received a diet containing these compounds”, points out the Inserm . in a sentence.
“Our results suggest that an unbalanced diet could increase allergic skin reactions in humans through mechanisms that we have accurately described,” emphasizes Elodie Segura, Inserm researcher who led the study at the Institut Curie.
He continued: “Simplified, our work could be said to help explain why eating vegetables like broccoli and cabbage can limit the severity of skin allergies and why it’s important to include them in the diet.”
The scientists also want to continue their research to determine if the results can be applied to other skin conditions, such as psoriasis.
Source: BFM TV
