Reporting their findings in the journal Gut, [a team of researchers at the University of Groningen and University Medical Centre Groningen] concluded that implementing dietary changes could feasibly help to prevent gut inflammatory processes involved in some chronic diseases.

“Modulation of gut microbiota through diets enriched in vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and fish and a higher intake of plant over animal foods, has a potential to prevent intestinal inflammatory processes at the core of many chronic diseases,” they wrote.

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The composition of the gut microbiome directly affects the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory responses in the gut. And, as the authors noted, “As microbes thrive on dietary substrates, the question arises whether we can nourish an anti-inflammatory gut ecosystem.”

Food clusters of breads, legumes such as lentils, peas and chickpeas, fish, and nuts were consistently associated with a lower relative abundance of ‘opportunistic’ bacteria and pro-inflammatory activity. But a fast food cluster of meats, french fries, mayonnaise and soft drinks was associated with a cluster of “unfriendly” Clostridium bolteae, Coprobacillus and Lachnospiraceae bacteria across all study participants.

In the absence of fibre, these bacteria turn to the mucus layer of the gut to feed off, leading to an erosion of the integrity of the gut, noted the researchers.

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