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Do We Really Know What Is In Our Food? The Connection Between Dietary Mycotoxin Exposure And Pediatric Crohn’S Disease, Susan L. Gonya

Master's Theses and Capstones

AbstractBACKGROUND: The incidence of pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) has increased over the past few decades. The etiology of CD has not yet been elucidated. Still, researchers have identified variables associated with the disease process, including genetic predisposition, environmental triggers like a poor-quality diet, air pollution, water pollution, and a dysbiotic microbiome with increased fungal diversity as predisposing factors. Fungal mycotoxin contamination in the food supply from toxicants like Deoxynivalenol (DON), a highly prevalent gastrointestinal irritant, has largely been ignored as a potential factor influencing the fungal dysbiosis and symptoms associated with the disease process. It is hypothesized that global and …