Red meat could be linked to development of ankylosing spondylitis says new research

Natural antigens in red meat may play a role in ankylosing spondylitis, experts report in a leading academic journal.

We know that food allergies can alter the composition of the gut microbiome, which may increase the risk of conditions such as ankylosing spondylitis.

So a team set out to see if particular allergens affected a group of 75 people with ankylosing spondylitis, comparing them to 78 healthy people. The allergens under the spotlight were rice, egg, mushroom, milk, pork, chicken, beef, crab, codfish, corn, soybean, tomato, shrimp and wheat.

People with ankylosing spondylitis had much higher blood levels of beef-, crab-, and pork-specific antibodies than the group without ankylosing spondylitis. And the blood levels of pork-specific antibodies were correlated with a marker of inflammation (C-reactive protein). The authors conclude:

“These results suggest that… the predominant natural antigen in mammalian red meat, might play a potential role in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis, and therefore, ankylosing spondylitis patients should exclude such allergenic foods, including beef, crab and pork, from their daily diet.”

Click here to read the original research.

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