Effects of dietary irritants on intestinal homeostasis and the intervention strategies

Abstract

Abundant diet components are unexplored as vital factors in intestinal homeostasis. Dietary irritants stimulate the nervous system and provoke somatosensory responses, further inducing diarrhea, gut microbiota disorder, intestinal barrier damage or even severe gastrointestinal disease. We depicted the effects of food with piquancy, high fat, low pH, high-refined carbohydrates, and indigestible texture. The mechanism of dietary irritants on intestinal homeostasis were comprehensively summarized. Somatosensory responses to dietary irritants are palpable and have specific chemical and neural mechanisms. In contrast, even low-dose exposure to dietary irritants can involve multiple intestinal barriers. Their mechanisms in intestinal homeostasis are often overlapping and dose-dependent. Therefore, treating symptoms caused by dietary irritants requires personalized nutritional advice. The reprocessing of stimulant foods, additional supplementation with probiotics or prebiotics, and enhancement of the intestinal barrier are effective intervention strategies. This review provides promising preliminary guidelines for the treatment of symptoms and gastrointestinal injury caused by dietary irritants.

Keywords: Dietary irritants; Gut microbiota; Intestinal barrier; Intestinal homeostasis; Prebiotics; Probiotics.