Gluten, dairy and refined sugars are pro-inflammatory food items which causes the development of autoimmune diseases and also can cause flare symptoms in most patients so avoiding all three even for a year can not only benefit the patients by lowering their antibodies levels but can also improve symptoms of most of the patients. The gliadin component present in gluten opens the tight junctions in the intestine and then causes a leaky gut increasing intestinal permeability where dietary proteins are presented to antigen-presenting cells activating T cells which further stimulate B cells to release antibodies that are IgM, IgG and IgA type. TNF-alpha is also released by antigen-presenting cells that cause cytokines and antibodies to damage the intestinal epithelial cells and cross-reaction with tissues such as the pancreas, kidney, liver, brain etc.

Milk proteins contain allergens such as Beta-casein, alpha-casein and beta-lactoglobulin associated with an increased number of IgG and IgA antibodies and the development of various autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid, celiac, Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, autism(now classified as autoimmune) etc. Milk proteins are known to share chains with human tissue such as islet cells of the pancreas.

Th17 cells that are pro-inflammatory express many GLUT3 receptors on their surface for glucose uptake and if consumption of highly refined sugar is done then it can be converted to citric acid and further metabolised to acetyl CoA which is known to cause inflammation and alter the gut permeability.

A food allergen test or mediator release test can be done to check for the specific allergen that you are sensitive to and then that can be eliminated from your diet as corn, soy, grains and nightshades are other food items that act as food allergens in various autoimmune diseases. Eliminate the same from your diet for a year and then reintroduce it to look for symptom improvement.

Reference: Vojdani, Aristo. “Molecular mimicry as a mechanism for food immune reactivities and autoimmunity.” Altern Ther Health Med 21.Suppl 1 (2015): 34-45