The Complex Equation Of Diet & Inflammation
We’ve known for a long time that what we eat affects our health. We’ve also known that what we eat can change our gut flora (bacteria).
This study attempts to discern whether the food we eat is correlated to changes in our gut flora and to how our immune system works. And its results – while only correlations rather than causations – shows that the relationships are significantly more complex than previously imagined.
The question specifically was whether a high fiber diet differed from a diet high in fermented foods in its effects on inflammation. Fermented foods include kombucha, kefir, yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and other fermented/pickled vegetables. High fiber foods include whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
Let’s cut to the chase – both dietary arms helped, but they helped differently and to different degrees. This is not a surprising result since we’ve known for a long time that the Standard American Diet (SAD diet) creates Standard American Disease.
Before we start discussing the results, the study itself can only guide us. There weren’t many folks in either dietary group. The folks who increased fiber and vegetables decreased their animal-based protein intake which could have caused some of the outcomes. Those in the high fiber diet group increased animal (specifically dairy) proteins because they increased their yogurt intake.
Both groups substantially increased their intake of fiber or fermented foods but when it came time for them to choose their dietary intake levels, both reduced the amount they ingested. That they didn’t chose to keep up their very high intake of fiber or fermented foods tells me that the noticed outcomes may not be achievable for most of us living our usual best dietary behaviors. And the total time of the study was probably not long enough to see the full effects of the dietary intervention.
Important – it likely takes longer than 4 months for a ‘new’ dietary behavior to show its full effects even though initial changes can be noticed within 6 weeks. Patience and diligence. Diligence and patience are needed.
The fiber food group surprisingly did not increase the different types of bacteria living in the gut. The bacterial diversity remained stable. However, they did see an increase in the number of bacteria. This makes sense since the bacteria were being fed their preferred food – fiber. Increasing bacteria and bacterial activity can cause gas, bloating, and in extreme cases, bowel overgrowth. And interestingly, in some folks with lower initial bacterial diversity, the high fiber diet actually increased some measures of inflammation.
I’d love to have seen the genome of these folks to see if they had the more inflammatory genetic variants. For those who had a higher bacterial diversity, the high fiber diet reduced inflammatory markers. Keep this in mind if you have unusual, unexpected results of your dietary intervention.
More interestingly, the fermented food group showed increased diversity in gut flora without the increase in bacterial abundance. And in this group the measures of inflammation decreased.
Bottom line: prioritize including fermented foods in your diet. (and of course, increasing vegetable intake and decreasing meat protein intake can be helpful).
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