There are many reasons why people adhere to specific diets, such as weight loss, fighting inflammation, or extending their lifespan. According to new research, switching to certain diets, particularly vegan and ketogenic ones, could have an impact on your immune system.
The study, published in Nature Medicine and conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), looked at following either a vegan diet (which eliminates animal products and tends to be high in fiber and low in fat) or a keto diet (which tends to be low in carbs and high in fat), and how each may impact the immune system.
The study consisted of 20 participants who ate as much as desired of either the vegan or keto diets for two weeks, followed by as much as desired of the other diet for two weeks. Blood, urine, and stool samples were collected for analysis throughout the study period.
It was found by researchers that switching solely to the study diets caused significant changes in all participants. Although the study did not specify if the diets improved or decreased immune systems, it showed that people who switched to either diet experienced rapid changes. For a definitive answer, more research needs to be conducted over time. But, researchers did find that the vegan diet prompted responses linked to innate immunity—the body’s non-specific first line of defense against pathogens, while the keto diet prompted responses associated with adaptive immunity—pathogen-specific immunity built through exposures in daily life and vaccination.
Moreover, the researchers observed that both diets led to metabolic changes and changes in the microbiomes (communities of bacteria living in the gut) of the participants.
In other words, this study demonstrated that a two-week vegan diet had a greater impact on our pathways and markers associated with our innate immune system whereas the keto diet had a greater impact on markers associated with our adaptive immune system, explains Kara Wada, M.D., board-certified allergist and immunologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Note: In innate immunity, a general response is mounted to any antigen or toxin, while adaptive immunity responds specifically to specific antigens, per the National Institutes of Health.
While we don’t know how this may affect people’s immune systems at this time, the study does provide great information to look at the role of more personalized and/or disease-state dietary advice in the future, says Dr. Wada. In her opinion, “this data adds further evidence that diet has a significant potential in disease prevention and treatment, but we need additional studies to parse out who may specifically benefit from a particular diet.”
Your immune system can be boosted beyond your diet, no matter what eating plan you follow. The single most efficient way to boost your immune system is to make sure you are up to date on all of your vaccines, says Purvi Parikh, M.D., allergist and immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Network. Vaccines are the easiest and most effective intervention. Along with this, adequate sleep, hydration, exercise, and stress management are extremely important and underrated, according to Dr. Parikh.
Dr. Wada states that our immune system health can be significantly impacted by what we eat in a relatively short time. “My concern would be that these are fairly restrictive and hard diets to stick to for the long term. Additionally, we have many larger studies pointing to benefits of plant-forward diets like the Mediterranean diet long-term,” she notes.
Dr. Parikh states that this study demonstrates the rapid and profound effects of food on the immune system. ‘What we eat is crucial,’ he adds. It’s important to include more immune-boosting foods on your plate!
