Cold Chain Hypothesis as cause of IBDs

[Zizzle]

I was reading an article about the meteoric rise in Crohn's and Colitis among kids in the UK and around the world. The article mentioned the hygeine hypothesis and one I'd never heard of, the "cold chain hypothesis." Interesttingly, I searched for it on this board, and it's never been discussed. I think it has some merit. Here's the basic theory:

Does Cold Food Cause Crohn's?
Researchers Implicate Modern Refrigeration in Rise of Bowel Disease
WebMD Health News

Dec. 11, 2003 -- Modern refrigeration is justifiably heralded as one of the most significant health advances of the 20th century, but French researchers say it may also be the cause of one malady -- the mysterious bowel disorder known as Crohn's disease.

It is just a theory, but they say the evidence points to food refrigeration as the catalyst for a dramatic increase in Crohn's cases. It is known that genetic predisposition plays a role in Crohn's disease, and environmental factors such as smoking and diet have also been implicated. But while theories abound, no single cause has been identified.

"Cold Chain Hypothesis"

At least half a million Americans suffer from Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and potentially, bleeding and anemia.

In a paper published Dec. 13 in the journal The Lancet, widely respected Crohn's researcher Jean-Pierre Hugot, MD, and colleagues from Paris' Hospital Robert Debre point out that the arrival of mechanical refrigeration in kitchens throughout the industrialized world paralleled the rise in diagnosed cases of Crohn's disease.

They implicate specific bacteria that thrive at low temperatures as the potential cause of Crohn's disease in genetically susceptible people, and they dub this theory the "cold chain hypothesis."

"The cold chain hypothesis suggests that psychotropic bacteria such as Yersinia and Listeria -- commonly found in beef, pork, chicken, sausages, hamburgers, cheese, and lettuce -- contribute to the disease," Hugot noted in a news release.

Toothpaste and Corn Flakes

Crohn's expert David Sachar, MD, says it is widely believed that environmental changes during the 20th century have played a role in the rising prevalence of the disorder. He tells WebMD that the observation has led to some provocative, but hard to prove, hypotheses, such as those linking Crohn's disease to such components of modern life as toothpaste and corn flakes.

Sachar says Hugot and colleagues make a good case for their theory that food refrigeration is the environmental catalyst researchers have been looking for, and adds that there is no group of researchers with better credentials to make such a claim.

The director emeritus of the gastroenterology department at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Sachar says while it is clear the researchers are "in the right church," it is not clear that they are "in the right pew."

"Their suggestion that the modern industrialized environment has introduced new bacteria into the food supply is not in itself novel," he says.

"What is novel is their argument that it is refrigeration in particular that has promoted the emergence of causative bacteria in food. This is certainly a proposal worthy of serious consideration, but it may be no more plausible than parallel hypotheses linking the development of pathologic lesions to ingested small particles -- whether from food additives or packaging or cooking utensils or, for that matter, even from toothpaste."

Implications

If the hypothesis is proven, investigators say it could have implications for future Crohn's disease research. But nobody is suggesting that Crohn's patients should, or even could, avoid foods that have been refrigerated.

"(Refrigeration) has produced many benefits for western societies, including the prevention of enteric infections, allowing more people access to a well-balanced diet," Hugot and colleagues wrote. "These advantages clearly outweigh the putative risks discussed here."

I've always been concerned about the ways fresh food is grown, processed and shipped, only to sit on cold store shelves for weeks. In the past, meat only lasted a few days after slaughter, now it's sealed and can go months in the refridgerator in some cases. One look at the almost-daily meat, cheese and vegetable recalls for lysteria, e.coli and other bacteria, are a simple reminder that refrigeration isn't fail-safe. Many harmful organisms can survive and thrive in the cold.

[DebE13]

Very interesting.

[tex]

Zizzle,

If that theory had any merit, the archaeological records should show that tribes living in arctic regions should have had major historical problems with IBDs. Eskimos, people living in alpine regions, Upper Mongolia, etc., should show evidence of historical problems with IBDs. To the contrary, they don't, and the IBD phenomenon is a fairly recent epidemic. Up until a few decades ago, IBDs were nowhere near as common, but refrigeration has been around for at least 2 or 3 times as long.

While it's true that Canada is having sort of an IBD epidemic, it's not because they use refrigeration, or live in a colder climate -- it's because they eat a western diet (loaded with wheat and other grains). You will find that true wherever IBDs are common.

Research based on association is often pretty tenuous evidence. IMO, an association between refrigeration and IBDs is mostly coincidence.

Tex

[DLTooley]

I'm still waiting a diagnosis, but my best bet at the moment is Yersinia induced LC - symptoms beginning during a cold snap case of food poisoning while camping. Both my dog and me got very sick. It became clear that he had already gone diabetic and that whatever it was triggered fatal pancreatitis in him. Mild-moderate diarrhea continued after the food poisoning symptoms and have gradually worsened over the last 6-7 months, with flares, etc. Only one of those flare-ups was associated with bloody stool.`

[Gabes-Apg]

Mmmmm
Tex, I think it comes back to historic genetics.....

Eskimo's were genetically built to cope with the cold.....

I think the issues occur when people eat and adopt lifestyle that is/are far removed from their genetic origins....

[Zizzle]

I think the issue is less about refrigeration at home, and more about where meats and other foods are processed and readied for market. There are countless forms of microbes in meat and dairy processing plants that are foreign to us, and the goods these plants prepare can end up all across the country spreading these organisms...Thanks to refrigeration. I'm not sure food distribution was this widespread even 50 years ago. I imagine food was more "local" to some extent, and certainly less shelf-stable (not counting Spam etc). Then again, these microbes probably exist because of the grain-based diets and antibiotics given to cattle. Refrigeration just gives this contaminated food a better chance of reaching our tables unnoticed.

[Polly]

Hi Z!

Hmmmm, not sure I buy this but very interesting!

However, I will take this opportunity to thank you for your on-going (relentless even) search to make sure that we leave no stone unturned when it comes to understanding MC. I always enjoy your posts and learn something new. Now, if we could only gather up all of that info you have provided to us and put it into the world's most powerful computer to analyze/ synthesize it and come up with THE answers, we'd be set!!!

Kudos to you for all that you do here!

Love,

Polly

[gluten]

Hi, I remember going to the meat market and fish store when I was young. It would be interesting watching the butcher cut the meat off the hanging meat in the cooler. In the fish market the fish was whole and on ice and would be cut fresh. Today, I do not know of any markets like this exist. The local meat market buys all the meats already cut, wrapped in plastic and shipped in boxes. Fish is processed the same way, it is not wrapped in pastic but shipped in styrofoam boxes. This exposes the products to the bacterias from the processing areas. John

[Joefnh]

This is a great thread Zizzle....I have often wondered if the answer to not only a rise in IBDs but also autoimmune issues as a whole is a result of a 'perfect storm' of events. Certainly the prevalence of 'enhanced, grains and things like a dramatic change in not only the foods we eat but also the makeup of the foods we eat has made for a perfect genomic storm.


The changes our genome has had to adapt to has happened at an unprecedented rate in our development as a species at just over a hundred or so years. In the past our genome has had thousands of years to adapt to far less changes not only in our foods but also the enterotype challenges that our GI systems have had to adapt to. In today's realm of antibiotics, enhanced grains, vaccinations etc...our GI systems which comprise 70% of our immune systems are to say the least under a tremendous level of stress.

Thanks for posting this and your other articles.