Scientists have discovered an incredible link between diet and gut health that could help prevent serious infections. By eating more fibre-rich foods, you can actually encourage good bacteria to crowd out harmful microbes in your digestive system. The study analyzed over 12,000 people's gut microbiomes and found specific bacteria that act as natural protectors against dangerous pathogens. This research suggests that what we eat plays a crucial role in our body's ability to fight off potentially life-threatening infections.
"By eating fibre in foods like vegetables, beans and whole grains, we can provide the raw material for our gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids" - Dr Alexandre Almeida by ANI
Washington, January 12: A new
study has found that the composition of the gut microbiome helps in predicting
how likely a person will succumb to potentially life-threatening infection with
Klebsiella pneumoniae, E.coli and other bugs -- and it may be altered by
changing your diet.
Key Points
1. Gut
microbiome composition predicts infection risks
2. Faecalibacterium
bacteria protects against harmful microbes
3. Fibre intake supports growth of beneficial gut bacteria
The group of bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae,
including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella, E.coli and others, is present at low
levels as part of a healthy human gut microbiome. However, certain catalytic
factors such as increased inflammation in the body, or by eating contaminated
food these bugs can cause illness and disease. In extreme cases, too much
Enterobacteriaceae in the gut can be life-threatening.
Researchers have used computational approaches
including AI to analyse the gut microbiome composition of over 12,000 people
across 45 countries from their stool samples. They found that a person's
microbiome 'signature' can predict whether a person's gut is likely to be
colonised by Enterobacteriaceae. The results are consistent across different
states of health and geographic locations.
The researchers identified 135 gut microbe species
that are commonly found in the absence of Enterobacteriaceae. It likely
protects against infection. The results are published in the journal Nature
Microbiology.
Notable among the protective gut species is a group of
bacteria called Faecalibacterium, which produces beneficial compounds called
short-chain fatty acids by breaking down fibre in the foods we eat.
This seems to protect against infection by a range of
disease-causing Enterobacteriaceae bugs.
The researchers suggest that eating more fibre in our
diet will support the growth of good bacteria -- and crowd out the bad ones to
significantly reduce the risk of illness.
In contrast, taking probiotics -- which don't directly
change the environment in the gut -- is less likely to affect the likelihood of
Enterobacteriaceae infection.
"Our results suggest that what we eat is
potentially very important in controlling the likelihood of infection with a
range of bacteria, including E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae because this
changes our gut environment to make it more hostile to invaders," said Dr
Alexandre Almeida, a researcher at the University of Cambridge's Department of
Veterinary Medicine and senior author of the paper.
He added: "By eating fibre in foods like
vegetables, beans and whole grains, we can provide the raw material for our gut
bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids -- compounds that can protect us from
these pathogenic bugs."
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