Microbiome Diversity

According to the Stanford study from 2021, people who had seven servings of fermented foods per day increased their microbiota diversity from 100 to 125 (note – these were just the microbes that the researchers could find) and decreased inflammation for ALL individuals.
Of the 25 new microbes found only 5% came from the fermented foods. The other 95% came from somewhere else. They don’t know from where at this point. The fermented foods seemed to create an environment favorable to new microbes.

Here is another link from Stanford with study results.

This was tested against a group who ate a high-fiber diet which did not increase microbiome diversity.
The high-fiber diet did have a number of benefits, increased number of microbes, increased nutrients, lowered detrimental molecules, but the immune status was complicated. Some participants had lower inflammation, but some participants had higher inflammation. If they had lower initial microbiota diversity to start they had higher inflammation and vice versa,

Here are some relevant notes from the paper.

“Although the total number of fermented
food servings consumed per day was positively correlated with
alpha diversity, the number of servings of yogurt and vegetable
brine drinks were each more strongly correlated (Figure 5C).
Yogurt and vegetable brine drinks were consumed at higher
rates relative to the other types of fermented foods, which may
contribute to the stronger correlation.”

These data suggest that the increase in microbiota diversity in
the high-fermented-food-diet arm was not primarily due to
consumed microbes but rather a result of shifts in or new acquisitions to the resident community.

These data support that fermented food consumption has an indirect effect on microbiota
diversity, rendering the microbiota receptive to the incorporation
or increased representation of previously undetected strains
within the gut.

It is unclear whether these ‘‘new’’ taxa were newly
recruited to the microbiota from the environment or were already
present but undetected and increased in relative abundance to
detectable levels during the intervention.

Whether a diet composed of both
high-fiber and fermented foods could synergize to influence
the host microbiota and immune system is an exciting possibility
that remains to be determined.

Below are the foods they ate.

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Probiotics Study

There was NO increase in microbiome diversity overall.

There was NO decrease in inflammation overall.

There was NO change in insulin and glucose overall.

BUT – there seem to be two different groups in the Probiotic group.

Groups A – 13 people – had worse results because they were eating the typical American diet.

Group B – 12 people – had better results. They were eating more plants than Group A.

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CONCLUSION

Blending high fiber and fermented food together might have the best benefit.
And – if you eat a plant based diet, probiotics might help.

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