Table 3.

Food/dietary components affecting gene expression or other factors with related mechanisms and effects.

Food/Dietary Component	Putative Mechanism	Effects
The green tea polyphenol EGCG	Limits the activation of the STAT3 pathway [114,124]	Anti-inflammatory effect [114,124]
Low intake of fibers	Reduced SCFAs production by dietary fiber fermenting bacteria, down-regulating the FFAR2 signaling [125,126]	FFAR2 mutations worsen fiber tolerance in CD patients [126]
Artificial sweeteners, infant formula, food emulsifiers, and antibiotics	Promote dysbiosis [131,132]	Increased risk of IBD onset [131,132]
Cruciferous vegetables	Antioxidant effects [14]	Detrimental effects on CD patients carrying the SNPs on the major histocompatibility complex [14]
Mushrooms	Act on the mutated T allele of the OCTN1 (c. 1672 C > T) gene [127]	People suffering from CD and carrying the genetic mutation show mushroom sensitivity [127]
Fructose	Enhances TXNIP gene expression [128,129,130]	Promotes inflammation in endothelial cells, eliciting hepatic inflammation, and contributes to NF-κB regulation [128,129,130]

Abbreviations: EGCG, EpiGalloCatechin Gallate; STAT3, Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3; SCFAs, Short-Chain Fatty Acids; FFAR2, Free Fatty Acid Receptor 2 gene; IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease; SNPs, Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism; OCTN1, Sodium-Dependent Organic Cation Transporter gene; TXNIP, Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein; NF-κB, Nuclear Factor Kappa-Light-Chain-Enhancer of Activated B cells.