Given the high rates of Vitamin D Deficiency in Indian population and the increasing incidence of allergies and asthma in children, this may be a potential way to reduce morbidity. However, the results need to be replicated in interventional studies.

While numerous changes in human lifestyle constitute modern life, our diet has been gaining attention as a potential contributor to the increase in immune-mediated diseases. The Western diet is characterized by an over consumption and reduced variety of refined sugars, salt and saturated fat. The objective of this Review article was to detail the mechanisms for the Western diet’s impact on immune function. The author reviewed the impacts and mechanisms of harm for our over-indulgence in sugar, salt, and fat, as well as the data outlining the impacts of artificial sweeteners, gluten, and genetically modified foods; attention was given to revealing where the literature on the immune impacts of macronutrients was limited to either animal or in-vitro models versus where human trials existed. Detailed attention was given to the dietary impact on the gut microbiome and the mechanisms by which our poor dietary choices were encoded into our gut, our genes, and were passed to our offspring. While today’s modern diet may provide beneficial protection from micro- and macronutrient deficiencies, abundance of macronutrients that compose our diet may all lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer, and increased risk for allergic and auto-inflammatory diseases.