Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Bowel Disease

Question:
Is it true that the use of fridges in the 20th century have increased the prevalence of crohn’s, and other bowel diseases?

Answer:
Somewhat interesting, if not such a theory full of holes.  As far as being a risk factor (just like MMR) almost everyone in the developed world has been exposed to the risk.  It'd be nearly impossible to say that it is a real risk factor when so many are exposed yet so few ever develop Crohn's. Also I don't recall reading anywhere that bacteria such as Listeria and Yersenia are prevalent in Crohn's disease. As well Crohn's disease may mimic food poisoning to a degree but it is much different and despite antibiotic use, no Crohn's patient has ever been cured. I'm willing to concede that there *might* be a higher incidence of MAP in Crohn's patients. Now given that assumption, it could also be entirely possible that treated Crohn's patients (with any immunosuppressive medication or similar drug) have a higher incidence than those who did not require treatment (of course very few Crohn's patients don't require treatment at some point).  Crohn's by itself does not equal a compromised immune system, although one not functioning properly.  I am not aware of any research that has been done comparing pre-treatment Crohn's patients vs. treated patients. Most Mycobacteria such as the species Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, cause infection mainly in immunocompromised hosts, at least in the developed world.  Therefore patients treated with immunosuppressive medications for Crohn's might be at increased risk of being colonized by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). There could also be something specific about Crohn's or the damage it does in the bowel that allows MAP to colonize patients with the disease at a higher rate. Because Mycobacteria often cause granuloma formation in infected hosts, and Crohn's sometimes exhibits granulomas, that is evidence for a connection.  OTOH the majority of Crohn's patients respond favourably to immunosuppressive medications, and while these medications might alleviate the negative immune response against MAP, likewise one would expect the infection to get worse if treated solely with immunosuppressant medications.  One would also expect Crohn's to be cured by appropriate antibiotic therapy.  It will also need to be demonstrated that MAP can cause Crohn's disease in a healthy subject. Until a number of laboratories start getting similar results using the same techniques, it will be impossible for either side of the argument to make conclusions.