Role of Dietary Components in the Epidemic of Allergic Disease

As the source of all nutrients, diet is arguably one the most important environmental exposures during early development. Maternal dietary exposures in utero have implications for most aspects of fetal development and there is growing evidence that this includes immune pathways that have the capacity to influence the risk of allergic disease. In the postnatal period, oral exposures, including a broad range of immunomodulatory dietary nutrients, potential allergens and colonizing bacteria, play a major role in the maturation of the mucosal immune system. Many of these factors have the capacity to influence the success or failure of subsequent tolerance, including extensive “modernization” which has led to many of these enteric exposures causing changes in colonization patterns and dietary composition. It is likely that the recent epidemic rise of allergic disease is multifactorial and that changes in at least some of these factors play a contributing role. It is also evident that a wide range of function genetic polymorphisms may influence the relative effects of these environmental exposures on the developing phenotype. A better understanding of these complex interactions may ultimately lead to individualized early interventions that are tailored and targeted according to genetic predisposition. Early dietary exposures are likely to play an important role in this.