Autoimmune Diseases: The Protective Effect of the Gluten-Free Diet
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 March 2024) | Viewed by 1795
Special Issue Editor
Interests: food allergy; celiac disease; food quality control; food safety; food supplements; antioxidants; wine analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cereals are an important food in human nutrition, but wheat- and gluten-containing cereals are toxic for some consumers. The term gluten refers to a protein complex typical of some cereals which provides viscosity, elasticity, and cohesion to flour-based doughs. There are two wheat proteins that are part of gluten: prolamin, called gliadin, and glutenin.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system produces antibodies that wrongly attack the body’s own cells. There are many different autoimmune diseases, and one of the most common, coeliac disease, involves gluten. The symptoms of celiac disease include constipation, diarrhea, and atrophy of the intestinal villi, which represents one of the diagnostic conditions of the pathology.
A gluten-free diet (GFD) is the foundation of the safe and effective treatment of celiac disease; in fact, a good GFD compliance improves the symptoms and quality of life of these subjects. Some evidence indicates that gluten is related to the increased incidence of pathologies other than celiac disease, the genesis of which is still not fully understood. From the available data, it cannot be excluded that these diseases may also have an autoimmune origin.
This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers to discuss the relationship between gluten-free diets and autoimmune diseases, with the aim of helping to promote the development of this field. This Special Issue welcomes original articles, as well as narrative and systematic reviews.
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Restani
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- gluten
- autoimmune diseases
- GFD
- immunity
- celiac disease
- food intolerance
- gastrointestinal disorders
