Evelyn,
the assessment of the molecular mimicry hypothesis depends on which authors are selected. The one you choose says it needs to address the issue of tissue specificity. If I understand this correctly, I think the following paper, Tiwana et al, Correlation between the immune responses to collagens type I, III, IV and V and Klebsiella pneumoniae in patients with Crohn's disease and ankylosing spondylitis, in Rheumatology 2001;40:15-23, is relevant.
With regard to the diet what is needed when the funds are made available is a prescriptive clinical trial. But those who use the diet should know there is now a considerable body of theory to explain their success and they should not be fobbed off with glib references to the placebo effect.
