A study recently published in Nature Medicine from Radboud University Medical Center in Tanzania shows that diet has a major impact on the immune system, demonstrating how Western-style eating habits cause inflammation while traditional African-style eating habits have a protective effect.
The paper describes how a shift of two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western style causes inflammation, reduces immune responses to pathogens, and activates processes that are associated with lifestyle diseases. A traditional African diet, on the other hand, is rich in fiber, fermented foods, and vegetables, which have positive and protective effects on the immune system, highlighting the significant impact of eating habits on the immune system and metabolism.
Investigating lifestyle diseases and the immune system
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic inflammatory conditions, and other lifestyle diseases are skyrocketing across Africa, posing a challenge to the healthcare systems across the country. This is likely promoted by the increasing economic development, urbanization, trade, and the wider availability of processed foods that have accelerated the adoption of Western-style eating habits in Africa. This study was conducted to examine the effects of these dietary changes on health.
For this study, 27 healthy men from urban and rural settings were enrolled who had their immune system function, blood inflammation markers, and metabolic processes comprehensively analyzed at baseline, after 2 weeks, and again 4 weeks later. During the study, some of the participants who ate a traditional diet switched to a Western-style diet for two weeks, while others who were already eating a Western-style eating habits switched to traditional African eating habits, a third group consumed a fermented banana drink every day, and a control group maintained their usual diet.
The finding revealed that those who switched to Western-style eating habits exhibited increases in inflammatory protein in their blood as well as activation of biological processes that are linked to lifestyle diseases. Additionally, their immune cells were found to respond less effectively to pathogens. However, those who switched to the traditional eating habits or consumed the fermented drink exhibited reductions in inflammatory markers, and some of these effects persisted four weeks later, indicating that short-term changes can have long-lasting effects.
Insights from Africa on the effects of diet
“Previous research has focused on other traditional diets, such as the Japanese or Mediterranean diet”, says internist Quirijn de Mast from Radboudumc. “However, there is just as much to learn from traditional African diets, especially now, as lifestyles in many African regions are rapidly changing and lifestyle diseases are increasing. Africa’s rich diversity in traditional diets offers unique opportunities to gain valuable insights into how food influences health.”
“The African diet includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, and fermented foods. Our study highlights the benefits of these traditional food products for inflammation and metabolic processes in the body. At the same time, we show how harmful an unhealthy Western diet can be. It typically consists of processed and high-calorie foods, such as French fries and white bread, with excessive salt, refined sugars, and saturated fats. Inflammation is at the root of many chronic conditions, which makes this study highly relevant for Western countries as well.”
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