“STUNNING” Study Reveals: Making THIS Simple Dietary Change Improves Gut Microbiome, Helps Prevent Inflammatory Diseases

AHA Publisher — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 07:00:25 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Research confirms what natural health experts have insisted for years: that the gut microbiome – the community of bacteria in the intestinal tract – plays a vital role in health. Researchers say imbalances in this microbial community – alternatively known as dysbiosis – can trigger a laundry list of unwanted health conditions, including increased risk of obesity, autism, “leaky gut,” and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Now, a new Stanford School of Medicine study suggests that one simple dietary “tweak” – enriching the diet with fermented foods such as yogurt, fresh sauerkraut, and kimchi – can improve the health and diversity of the microbes (or microbiota) while reducing levels of inflammatory enzymes in the body. So let’s look at how fermented foods contribute to better health and disease prevention. Unexpected Study Results Have Researchers Scratching Their Heads – While Highlighting Dramatic Benefits of Fermented Foods In the controlled clinical trial, which was published in July in Cell, 36 healthy adults were randomly assigned to a ten-week diet that included either fermented foods (including yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi, and kombucha tea) or high-fiber foods (such as legumes, seeds, nuts, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits). The findings seemed to take the researchers by surprise. While scientists and natural health experts have long maintained that a high-fiber diet promotes microbial balance and improves all-around health, the fermented foods-enhanced diet was found to be even more effective in improving the gut microbiome. The team found that participants in the fermented foods group experienced increased microbial diversity, displaying a greater variety of “friendly” gut bacteria. At the same time, they showed sharply reduced levels of 19 different inflammatory proteins (such as interleukin-6) linked to rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and chronic stress. And, the results were dose-dependent, meaning that positive effects increased with a larger serving size. SURPRISING Outcome: Fermented Foods Outperform High-Fiber Foods Because high-fiber diets have been linked in multiple studies with lower rates of inflammatory diseases and lower mortality, researchers expected that this latest study would show that high-fiber foods decrease levels of inflammatory proteins. However, this was not the case – and researchers sounded a bit upset. “We expected high fiber to have a more universally beneficial effect and (to) increase microbiota diversity,” said senior research scientist Erica Sonnenburg, Ph.D. She acknowledged that the data suggested that short-term increases in fiber intake were “insufficient to increase microbial diversity.” However, the story is a little more complicated than meets the eye. The results also showed that increasing fiber intake led to more carbohydrates in stool samples, hinting at an incomplete fiber breakdown by gut microbes. Since earlier research suggested that the microbiomes of people living in industrialized nations are deficient in fiber-degrading microbes, Prof. Sonnenburg hypothesized that a longer-term study might have allowed time for gut bacteria to adapt to the increase in dietary fiber. Of course, experts say it’s still a wise choice to get plenty of dietary fiber. Extensive studies have shown that high-fiber diets deliver important health benefits, including helping to lower LDL cholesterol and cutting the risk of certain types of cancer. Scientists Call the Recent Rise in Inflammatory Diseases “Overwhelming” The study helped to illustrate the three-way link between dietary changes, gut microbiome balance, and overall health. The researchers agreed that diet “shapes” the gut microbiome, with low microbiota diversity associated with the soaring incidence of obesity and diabetes. Noting the “overwhelming” national rise in chronic inflammatory diseases, the team expressed hope that fermented foods could help act against this dangerous phenomenon. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic degenerative diseases, most of which involve inflammation, affect a shocking 60 percent of all American adults. And these diseases exact a grim toll. For example, inflammation-driven heart disease is the Number One killer of adults in the U.S., claiming roughly 655,000 American lives a year. And type 2 diabetes, which has an inflammatory component as well, is currently nearing epidemic levels, with over 34 million Americans currently affected. You Can Help Reconfigure the All-Important Gut Microbiome and Boost Immunity With Fermented Foods Study co-author Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology, called the findings “stunning” and said that the research provided one of the first examples of how a simple change in diet could “remodel” the gut microbiome. The team concluded that microbiota-targeted diets, such as diets high in fermented foods, can change immune status, providing a “promising avenue for decreasing inflammation in healthy adults.” The next order of business is for researchers to examine whether fermented foods can also cut inflammation in patients with existing immune disorders and metabolic diseases. With so much riding on the health and diversity of the microbiome, the benefits of fermented foods are too significant to be overlooked. Maybe it’s time to consider adding tasty, nutritious kimchi, yogurt, and kombucha tea to your healthy diet. Sources for this article include: ScienceDaily.com CDC.gov CDC.gov To read the original article click here.

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Researchers Find Potential New Target for Treatment of Inflammatory Disease

AHA Publisher — Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:00:33 +0000

University of Birmingham via EurekAlert – In general, a greater increase in lactate means a greater severity of the condition, and lactate levels are used by hospital medics as a critical way to monitor the health and likely recovery of patients in intensive care. Researchers led by the University of Birmingham have found a potential new target to treat inflammatory disease. The research, led by scientists at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, and Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, publishes today (November 7th) in Cell Metabolism. The team of researchers are experts in cellular metabolism – the set of chemical reactions or ‘metabolic pathways’ that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. This study focussed on the role of lactate in how the body’s immune system responds to inflammation. Lactate is a molecule produced by most tissues in the human body, with the highest production found in muscle, and levels of lactate in the blood are regulated by the kidney. A high lactate level in the blood means that a disease or condition is causing lactate to accumulate. In general, a greater increase in lactate means a greater severity of the condition, and lactate levels are used by hospital medics as a critical way to monitor the health and likely recovery of patients in intensive care. Dr Valentina Pucino, of the University of Birmingham, said: “The recent discovery of the fundamental role of metabolism in immune cell biology is contributing immensely to our understanding of immune cell regulation.” Dr Michelangelo Certo, of the University of Birmingham, added: “So far, most studies have focused on the role of metabolic pathways in the establishment of the immune response. “Lactate has mainly been seen as a by-product of metabolism or as a biomarker in critical care at best, rather than a bioactive molecule, and its functional effects have thus been neglected for a long time. “However, far from being inert, the accumulation of lactate in the cells, molecules and structures of tissue is found in both inflammatory disease and cancer.” In this study, the researchers analysed the response of immune cells to lactate in chronic inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis. In their research, which involved the use of mice, they also used blood from healthy patients and patients with arthritis, as well as joint biopsies, and tonsils removed following tonsillectomies due to the fact that inflamed tonsils share similarities with an inflamed joint. Dr Claudio Mauro, of the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, said: “We identified the pathway initiated by lactate build-up in inflamed tissue that exacerbates the inflammatory response. “We also now can provide evidence that molecules made by immune cells to transport sodium lactate – the sodium salt of lactic acid – could be a target for treatment to stop this lactate build-up in chronic inflammatory disorders.” To read the original article click here.

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“STUNNING” Study Reveals: Making THIS Simple Dietary Change Improves Gut Microbiome, Helps Prevent Inflammatory Diseases

Researchers Find Potential New Target for Treatment of Inflammatory Disease