Summary
This randomised controlled trial, published in Cell, compared the effects of a high-fibre diet versus a fermented food diet on gut microbiome composition and host immune status in healthy adults. The fermented food diet was associated with increased microbiome diversity and decreased markers of inflammation, whereas the high-fibre diet did not consistently increase microbiome diversity, with responses appearing to depend on baseline microbiome composition. The findings suggest that dietary pattern, particularly the inclusion of fermented foods, may be a tractable intervention for modulating immune-inflammatory status through the gut microbiome.
UK applicability
Although conducted in the United States, the immunological and microbiological mechanisms studied are directly relevant to UK dietary public health, and the findings have implications for UK dietary guidelines, particularly regarding recommendations on fermented foods and dietary fibre for immune and gut health.
Key measures
Gut microbiome diversity (16S rRNA sequencing); microbiome gene richness; plasma cytokine levels (19 inflammatory proteins); immune cell profiling; stool short-chain fatty acid concentrations
Outcomes reported
The study measured changes in gut microbiome composition, microbiome-encoded carbohydrate-active enzymes, and immune markers (including cytokines and immune cell types) in response to two distinct dietary interventions over 17 weeks.
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