Inflammatory intestinal diseases are linked to the presence of allergic reactions or food intolerances towards common foods. Milk and yeast are the most frequent ones. It’s bewildering that very few Italian doctors prescribe diets for their patients who have intestinal illnesses.

Italian version

The theme of  hypersensitivity to Brewer's yeast common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an extremely hot topic.

We know that one of the markers for this disease is the presence of anti saccharomyces cerecisiae antibodies (ASCA) and this means that a cause or concomitant cause of this severe problem could be a hypersensitivity to baked products and all leavened foods .

Today, other antibodies are also being studied along with the ASCA in order to be able to form more precise diagnoses (Dotan I, et al. Gatroenterology 2006 Aug;131(2):366-78). The presence of these antibodies may help to better clarify the existence of a specific inflammatory disturbance of the intestine. However, the fact remains that, while we at Eurosalus reported the reactivity to milk and yeast in inflammatory intestinal diseases (citing indisputable scientific studies),  the average Italian clinic firmly opposed any sort of diet. What's more, even today many gastroenterology departments make it common practice to tell patients to avoid any type of diet.

Since the ASCA's are also involved in liver reactivity and interfere in hepatopathies, the presence of anti Saccharomyces antibodies also concerns the theme of Hepatitis B vaccines . This is due to the fact that the carrier of the vaccine's antigen substance is actually genetically manipulated Saccharomyces and the anaphylactic reactivity to the vaccine on the part of subjects with yeast reactivity has been documented (DiMiceli L et al, Vaccine 2006 Feb 6;24(6):703-7. Epub 2005 Aug 9).

One might also wonder why in Italy no one took the trouble to investigate how many people are developing anti-yeast antibodies after having taken the hepatitis B vaccine (in Italy it's compulsory), along the lines of what happened with Thimerosal  and nickel . In my clinical experience I have seen a growing number of youngsters with inflammatory intestinal pathologies, many more than I saw 10 or 15 years ago. Does the vaccine have something to do with it? It would be useful to find out.

Let's also consider the fact that, in a person who suffers from celiac disease and cannot eat bread, the presence of ASCA drops completely at the moment in which the patient follows a correct diet (Mallant-Hent RCh et al, Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2006 Jan;18(1):75-8).

It's natural to think that even in the case of Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis the reactivity  could be reduced by modifying the patient's diet. In our clinical practice we do just that by way of tests for food intolerances and the application of a diet which, in almost 90% of the cases of inflammatory intestinal diseases, refers to yeast and milk.

Italian version