The traditional Mediterranean diet is effective in the prevention and treatment of acute and recurrent inflammatory diseases of childhood
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Keywords
Inflammatory disease, recurrent disease, recurrent colds, recurrent acute otitis media, recurrent acute rhinosinusitis, otitis media with effusion, persistent nasal obstruction, childhood asthma, Mediterranean diet, dietary intervencion, nutritional therapy
Abstract
In the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, disease severity was found to be more related to the immune system hyper-response than the invasive or destructive capacity of the virus. Similarly, most common childhood diseases, which are generally recurrent and inflammatory, may be caused by a hyper-response or inability of the immune system. Individuals will react differently to causal noxa and outcomes will depend on the balance and maturity of their immune system. Conventionally, childhood diseases are symptomatically treated with little attention being devoted to balancing and stimulating the maturation of the immune system. Recently, there has been an increase in publications that consider lifestyle as an important factor in the maintenance of health. One controversial angle is an abandonment of the traditional diet and the inclusion of foods that are potentially less well-assimilated by the human species. An increasing number of studies are demonstrating the anti-inflammatory effects of the Mediterranean Diet while illustrating the pro-inflammatory effects of many other food types. We believe that the Traditional Mediterranean Diet consists of foods that support the establishment and maintenance of a healthy microbiota and a mature immune system that, in turn, can aid in the prevention of common inflammatory and recurrent diseases of childhood.
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