BOSTON – A diet rich in healthy and plant-based diets is linked to the presence and abundance of gut microbes which is also associated with a lower risk for developing conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to recent findings from a large-scale international study co-authored by Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The report appears in Nature’s cure.
“This study reveals a clear association between specific microbial species in the gut, certain foods, and risk from some common diseases,” says Chan, a gastroenterologist, head of the Clinical Epidemiology and Translational Unit at MGH , and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Hopefully we can use this information to help people avoid real health problems by changing their diet to personalize their gut midge.”
The metagenomic study of PREDICT 1 (Personal Responses to Obsessive Compulsive Test 1) analyzed detailed data on the composition of participants’ microorganisms, their dietary habits, and cardiometabolic blood biomarkers. The researchers found strong evidence that midges are associated with a particular diet and diet, and that, in turn, they are also associated with levels of metabolic biomarkers of the disease. Further, the microbome is more closely associated with these markers than other factors, such as genetics.
“Studying the interplay between midges, diet and disease involves many variables as people’s diets tend to be personalized and can change significantly over time, ”Explained Chan. “Two of the strengths of this test are the number of participants and the detailed information we collected.”
PREDICT 1 is an international collaboration to study links between diet, the midges, and cardiometabolic health biomarkers. The researchers collected microbiome order data, detailed information on long-term diet, and the results of hundreds of cardiometabolic blood signals from just over 1,100 participants in the UK and US
The researchers found that participants who ate a diet rich in healthy plant-based foods were more likely to have high levels of certain gut microbes. Participants’ gut microbiomes formation was strongly associated with specific nutrition, diet, food groups and general diet records (overall diet composition). The researchers also found microbiome-based obesity biomarkers as well as indications for cardiovascular disease and glucose intolerance.
Epidemiologist Tim Spector of King ‘s College London, who started the PREDICT study, says: “When you eat, you don’t just nourish your body, you feed the trillions of microbes that are stay in your gut. “
For example, with a rich midge Prevotella copri and Blastocystis sex was associated with maintaining a favorable blood sugar level after a meal. Other species were associated with lower blood fat levels and symptoms of inflammation. The trends they found were so consistent, the researchers believe their microbial data can be used to determine the risk of cardiometabolic disease among people who do not yet have symptoms, and perhaps prescribe a personalized diet that has been designed specifically to improve someone ‘s health.
“We were surprised to see such large, clear groups of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes emerging from our study,” said Nicola Segata, PhD, the Lab’s professor and principal investigator. Computational Metagenomics at the University of Trento, Italy and coordinator of the study of the microbiome data in the study. “And it is interesting to see that microbiologists know so little about many of these microbes that they are not even named yet. “
Curtis Huttenhower, PhD, co-author of the Harvard TH Chan Microbiome Center at the Center for Public Health, said: “Both diet and gut midges are very personal. PREDICT is one of the first studies to unravel these complex molecules. nets at scale. “
Francesco Asnicar, PhD, and Sarah Berry, PhD, are the co-authors of the study. There were other colleagues from the health science company ZOE, who supported the research.
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital in Harvard Medical School. Mass General Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the country, with an annual research work of more than $ 1 billion and includes more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 1 million researchers. on 30 institutions, centers and departments. In August 2020, Mass General was named # 6 on the U.S. News and World Report list of “America’s best hospitals.”
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