Immunomodulation by Foods and Microbes in Crohn Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Intestinal mucosa has a single cell layer of epithelial cells that separates the gut lumen harboring the commensal flora and food-born pathogenic antigens from the body. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease are the chronic nonspecific inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Recently, the number of patients with CD and UC has been increasing in Asia and the other European countries as well as North America and Western Europe. Intestinal environmental factors such as foods and microbes are very important for the pathogenesis of IBD. Changes in dietary habits taking high-fat high-sugar Westernized foods and resultant changes in the intestinal microbial community composition may increase incidence in the occurrence of IBD.