Neuroimmunomodulation by nutrition in stress situations

Abstract

Stress has long been suspected to play a role in the etiology of many diseases and may be detrimental to health. Nowadays, the communication between the neuroendocrine and the immune systems is well established and there is enough evidence that the magnitude of stress-associated immune dysregulation is large enough to have health implications. In stress conditions, modulation of the immune system by the central nervous system (CNS) is mediated by a complex network of signals, showing a relationship between stress and resistance to infection. On the other hand, an adequate balanced diet plays a crucial role in the management of stress, and nutrition seems to be a critical determinant in the interactions among CNS and the immune system under stress conditions. Thus, interactions among nutrition, CNS and the immune system could be a key to understand implications in physiological stress situations. The present article will briefly review nutrition approaches on stress-related immune response and CNS communication.