ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the experiments, examine the possible immunomodulatory mechanisms that may be involved, and consider the potential role of nutrition in the management of human autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disorders in humans comprise an array of degenerative diseases characterized by tissue injury associated with aberrant and harmful immunological responses. The basis of nutritional therapeutic approaches to diseases of the immune system stems from the observation that individuals suffering from protein-calorie malnutrition or deficiencies in specific food ingredients have a compromised immune status. Experiments restricting caloric intake in New Zealand mice were among the first to be conducted in attempts to regulate the autoimmune process by nutritional intervention. The mechanism by which fats modulate immune responses may also involve production of immunoregulatory lipoproteins. Arachidonic acid constitutes a large proportion of cytoplasmic and membrane phospholipids of lymphocytes and macrophages. Autoimmune disorders should most likely be placed in this category, although this hypothesis can only be substantiated by continued research efforts.
