EATING essential foods can “reprogram” your gut to make you healthier and reduce your risk of disease, scientists say.
Having plenty of fiber has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.
Not to mention, fiber-rich foods can help you go to the bathroom regularly and keep you fuller for longer, according to the NHS.
Recent research has even linked a daily fiber supplement to improved brain function and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s.
Now, scientists at DTU National Food Institute and University of Copenhagen say they have discovered why fiber can be so beneficial to our health.
At the heart of this process is an essential amino acid called tryptophan, which is found in foods such as Perucheese and eggs.
When it reaches our intestines, tryptophan is transformed by bacteria into a variety of compounds.
These bacteria compete to use the amino acid, converting it into substances that can be harmful or beneficial to health.
The research, published in the journal Microbiology of Nature, revealed that eating lots of fiber can help gut bacteria transform tryptophan into healthy substances.
But if we don’t eat fiber, tryptophan can be converted into harmful compounds by our gut bacteria.
“These results emphasize that our eating habits significantly influence the behavior of gut bacteria, creating a delicate balance between health-promoting activities and disease-associated activities,” said Tine Rask Licht, professor at the DTU National Food Institute.
“In the long term, the results could help us design dietary programs that prevent a range of diseases.”
Dietary fiber – known as roughage – refers to carbohydrates found in plants that are not digested in the small intestine.
Instead, it is only broken down in the large intestine and is essential for keeping the intestine functioning normally, according to the UK Dietitians Association.
It is found in foods such as:
- Whole-grain breakfast cereals
- Beans and legumes
- Potatoes with skin
- Nuts and seeds
- Fresh fruits and vegetables as well as dried fruits
- Whole-grain breads and pasta
According to the NHS, most of us don’t get enough fiber daily.
It is recommended to consume around 30g per day.
Scientists have said that eating fiber can improve health by reprogramming the gut, preventing the conversion of tryptophan into harmful substances and instead promoting its conversion into beneficial substances.
Anurag Kumar Sinha, researcher at DTU National Food Institute. explained: “The gut bacteria E. coli can transform tryptophan into a harmful compound called indole, which is associated with the progression of chronic kidney disease.
“But another gut bacteria, C. sporogenes, transforms tryptophan into healthy substances associated with protection against inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurological disease,” he added.
The researchers conducted a series of experiments on bacterial cultures and mice to shed light on a process known as cross-feeding.
When we eat fiber, certain bacteria break it down into simple sugars.
How can I eat more fiber?
Most adults only eat around 20g of fiber per day, but government guidelines say our dietary fiber intake should increase to 30g per day.
Make sure you get fiber from multiple sources, not just one.
The NHS recommends doing the following to increase your intake:
- Choose a high fiber breakfast cereal, such as plain whole wheat biscuits (such as Weetabix) or grated whole grains (such as shredded wheat), or porridge, as oats are also a good source of fiber.
- Opt for whole grain or granary breads, or high fiber white bread, and choose whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.
- Opt for unpeeled potatoes, such as roast potatoes or boiled new potatoes.
- Add legumes like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
- Include lots of vegetables in your meals, whether as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries.
- Eat fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert. Because dried fruit is sticky, it can increase the risk of tooth decay, so it’s best to only eat it as part of a meal rather than as a snack between meals.
- For snacks, try fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes, and unsalted nuts or seeds.
Source: National Health Service
These sugars become food for other bacteria, including some that would otherwise be busy converting tryptophan to indole.
Because they are too focused on breaking down fiber-derived sugars, these bacteria produce less indole, leaving more tryptophan available for other bacteria to convert into beneficial compounds.
Anurag Kumar Sinha, another scientist involved in the study, explained: “B. thetaiotaomicron – fiber-degrading intestinal bacteria – helps break down fiber into simple sugars, which E. coli prefers over tryptophan for growth.
“The sugar components of fiber prevent E. coli from transforming tryptophan into indole, thus allowing C. sporogenes to utilize tryptophan to produce healthy compounds.
Fiber has long been touted for promoting healthy bacteria in the gut.
But researchers said their study showed that fiber can not only help modify the types of bacteria in the gut – leading to a healthier composition – but can also influence the behavior of gut bacteria in ways that improve health.
Martin Frederik Laursen said: “As a research community, we need to shift focus from viewing gut bacteria and their abundances strictly as good or bad – to instead understanding how we make our gut bacteria behave well or badly.”
This could help scientists develop better diet recommendations to keep our gut healthy and prevent disease, the researchers said.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
