Metabolic syndrome is a serious condition. Its a cluster of factors that put you at risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

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But you can turn it around by making some changes to your eating habits, says dietitian Melissa Matteo, MS, RD, LD, CDE. Changing how you eat can make a real difference in controlling metabolic syndrome.

According to the American Heart Association, a person has metabolic syndrome if they have three or more of these factors:

The good news: Adopting healthier eating habits can influence each of those factors.

Overhauling your diet might sound intimidating. But you dont have to go extreme. As a first step, Matteo recommends focusing on what unhelpful foods you can phase out. These include:

Once youve deep-sixed the processed stuff, you can start building meals around heart-healthy alternatives. Theres no specific metabolic syndrome diet, Matteo says. Focus on whole, plant-based foods.

She suggests checking out the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, seafood and olive oil. Research has linked this eating style to weight loss and a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes and Type 2 diabetes.

A healthy balanced diet should include:

Add more veggies especially non-starchy vegetables like salad greens, broccoli and peppers, Matteo says. When you do choose starchy vegetables, opt for those that are higher in fiber, such as beans, lentils and chickpeas.

Fruits are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Yes, they also have sugar, but those natural sugars are offset by the fiber found in whole fresh or frozen fruit. Because of the fiber, you digest the sugars in fruit more slowly, Matteo says. Tasty high-fiber fruits include raspberries, blackberries and pears.

Unlike processed grains that have been stripped of nutrients, whole grains are good for heart health. Foods like whole-wheat breads, barley and oats can help you avoid weight gain and lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Omega-3 fatty acids can help increase HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol), Matteo says. Youll find them in nuts, seeds and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel.

Some people wonder if the trending keto diet can help treat metabolic syndrome. The answer? It depends.

The keto diet is a low-carb diet that focuses on eating fats at every meal. But research about its weight-loss effectiveness is mixed. Matteo says a big drawback is that most people find it hard to keep up this way of eating for the long haul.

Do you see yourself still eating this way in a year, five or 10? If the answer is no, I dont encourage this method, she says. If you do plan to eat this way for the rest of your life, Id still recommend avoiding saturated fats and cured meats.

Cutting out sugar-sweetened beverages is a really important step if you have metabolic syndrome. But what about diet soda?

Some research has linked sugar substitutes in diet soda to weight gain and a variety of health problems. But the connection isnt entirely clear.

Diet soda gets a lot of bad press in the media, but its not so black and white, Matteo says. I definitely dont recommend drinking a lot of it. But if it helps you wean yourself off of sugar-sweetened drinks, I think its ok to drink in moderation but water is still the beverage of choice.

Changing your eating habits can be challenging, but you dont have to do it overnight. Start with baby steps, Matteo says. Identify one small positive change you can make first.

She offers these tips for getting started:

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Metabolic Syndrome Diet: What to Eat and What to Avoid - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Search "boiled egg diet" and you might be shocked to learn that, yes, there is a weight-loss trend out there that circles around eating hard-boiled eggs. Since you probably have *a lot* of questions right now, we'll clear it up for ya.

To start, the boiled egg diet doesn't involve eating only eggs (whew). The boiled egg diet is based on the idea that eating at least two or three hard-boiled eggs per day can help you lose weight.

But are boiled eggs really the food that's going to be the X factor to weight-loss success? Spoiler: probably not. But there's a lot to this, so we chatted with experts about the boiled egg diet, the results that it brings, and how it can impact your body.

Yes, there are boiled eggs involved. Although there are some varieties of this plan, it typically involves eating two eggs with fruit at breakfast and eggs or another lean protein at lunch and dinner, along with only non-starchy vegetables, explains New York City-based dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, RDN.

Though it may sound relatively healthy, the boiled egg diet is a fad diet. This is a version of a low-calorie, low carb diet that will promote weight loss, but will not be sustainable long-term and does not provide your body with balanced nutrition, she says. You may lose weight temporarily, but the results won't necessarily last.

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There are different versions of the diet, but the most common consists of three meals per day, and no snacks or desserts, says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian nutritionist in New York City.

Throughout the day you need to make sure youre eating three eggs, or two eggs at the very minimum. Youre also free to consume lean proteins, non-starchy veggies, specific fruits, and a little bit of fat, Gans notes. More specifically, some samples of allowed foods, according to Gans, are the following:

That said, while there are some common foods that youre able to eat on the boiled egg diet, theres also a significant list of foods that you are not supposed to eat while following this limited plan. Other than eggs, non-starchy vegetables, and a small bit of fruit, other food groups such as grains, dairy, and fats are all off limits, Palinski-Wade says.

Specifically, the diet suggests avoiding all processed foods, and even other veggies like potatoes, corn, peas, and legumes, Gans says. Youre also asked to avoid some fruits: bananas, pineapple, mango, dried fruits, and sweetened beverages, Gans explains.

So, if youre aiming for a balanced diet that includes grains, dairy, various fruits, and fats (which is totally understandable), its important for you to note these limitations before diving into a hard-boiled-egg-focused plan.

Not quite. The recommended foods on the diet do have health benefits, but because there are also so many other foods to avoid, the diet is considered highly restrictive, Gans explains.

You should also know there are long-term concerns. This is a restrictive, unbalanced way to eat that could result in nutritional deficiencies long-term and is not sustainable, Palinski-Wade adds.

Best to chat with a health care provider before trying it.

If weight loss is important to you, know that you'll probably lose weight on this diet, Palinski-Wade explains, since its low in calories and carbs. The initial weight loss will include water losses, resulting in exciting results, but not much actual loss of body fat.

Over time, the calorie deficit will lead to losses in body fat, but the chances of maintaining these results are low based on how restrictive it is, Palinski-Wade notes.

It's true that eggs are a versatile, nutrient-rich food, packed with vitamins and minerals, and "are a great addition to any eating plan," Gans says. "But one should never simply focus on one food or nutrient in order to lose weight." So if youre going to try out the boiled egg diet, be sure to diversify your protein sources and eat a variety of foods so that youre not getting all your nutrients from the same meals each day.

If you have a history of disordered eating or feel that you might be susceptible to an eating disorder, reconsider the boiled egg diet, Palinski-Wade says.

Another reason why results are hard to maintain? Because the diet is highly restrictive, you're not actually learning anything about how to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet for long-term success, but rather how to deprive yourself of eating foods you may enjoy, Gans says. If you have a history of disordered eating or feel that you might be susceptible to an eating disorder, reconsider the boiled egg diet, Palinski-Wade says.

Most likely, you'll end up regaining weight you lose, and possibly more, since you may wind up overeating following such a restrictive plan, Palinski-Wade says. Proceed with caution. (But if you like hard boiled eggs, eat them in moderation!)

The bottom line: The lack of variety in the boiled egg diet diet creates an unsustainable and possibly nutrient-deficient diet if done long-term.

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The Boiled Egg Diet Is The Latest Weight-Loss Fad To Know About - Women's Health

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Eating at least three servings of whole grains each day can keep your weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels in check as you age, a new study found.

Eating whole-grain foods as part of a healthy diet delivers health benefits beyond just helping us lose or maintain weight as we age, said senior author Nicola McKeown, a scientist on the nutritional epidemiology team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, in a statement.

These data suggest that people who eat more whole grains are better able to maintain their blood sugar and blood pressure over time, McKeown said. Managing these risk factors as we age may help to protect against heart disease.

In the study, published Tuesday in The Journal of Nutrition, researchers followed 3,100 people in their 50s at regular four-year intervals for 18 years, thus allowing researchers to track changes in eating habits over time.

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Eating three servings of whole grains daily kept weight under control, a new study revealed.

Compared to people who ate less than one-half serving of whole grains, people who ate three or more servings daily over time had a lower average increase in waist size (0.5 inch instead of 1 inch) and a greater decline in triglyceride levels during each four-year period.

A single serving of whole grains is one slice of whole-grain bread, or a half cup of oats, or a half cup of brown rice.

In addition, average increases in blood sugar levels and systolic blood pressure (the top number, which measures the force your heart exerts on artery walls each time it beats) were also lower in people who ate more whole grains, despite any increase in waist size.

Eating the whole grain, as our ancestors used to do, provides a host of benefits to the body that are lost when the grain is processed.

The flour in white breads, bagels, pastries and pasta has lost the grains fiber-rich outer layer during the refining process. Also lost is the inner germ layer thats full of antioxidants, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B and healthy fats. Only the starchy part of the grain is left.

But keeping the grain whole can increase dietary fiber and have a satiating effect, thus reducing calorie intake, while the magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants may contribute to lowering blood pressure, said first author Caleigh Sawicki, who was a doctoral student at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University when she worked on the study.

Soluble fiber in particular may have a beneficial effect on post-meal blood sugar spikes, said Sawicki, currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Womens Hospital at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a statement.

However, the average American consumes about five servings of refined grains daily, much more than is recommended, so its important to think about ways to replace refined grains with whole grains throughout your day, McKeown said.

For example, you might consider a bowl of whole-grain cereal instead of a white flour bagel for breakfast and replacing refined-grain snacks, entrees, and side dishes with whole-grain options, she added. Small incremental changes in your diet to increase whole-grain intake will make a difference over time.

In the US and Europe, ancient grains like protein-rich quinoa, farro and amaranth have been growing in popularity for the past decade and a half. These grains have remained largely unchanged over the past several hundred years, according to the Whole Grains Council.

Try ancient grains as a base for a grain salad at lunchtime or as a side at dinner. Less commonly known ancient grains include iron-rich teff, which has a distinctive nutty flavor but can be pricier than more common grains like oats. You can experiment with these grains by incorporating them in small amounts into your morning bowl of oatmeal.

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Add this superfood to your diet to help manage weight and lower blood pressure - CNN

One of the most popular diets in recent years is called the Paleo diet, and it focuses on healthier eating habits. This diet excludes dairy, grains, legumes, and sugar, and focuses on food that consists of organic proteins like wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, and nuts.

Even though many parents have already started to adopt this diet, there are still some who question whether this is a healthy diet for their kids. Well give you a little insight into the Paleo diet for kids so that you can decide if you can implement it as a healthy option for the healthy development of your children.

The Paleo diet is a healthy way of eating, originating from the Paleolithic Age, and is also known as the cavemen diet. Going paleo means to eat only the food our ancestors ate during the Paleolithic Age. This way of eating became popular in recent years since many people have started to use it to combat chronic diet-and-lifestyle diseases like fatty liver and type-2 diabetes.

Even though there is not much research on whether it is completely safe for kids, parents still decide to apply it to their childs daily diet to avoid obesity and chronic diseases like the ones mentioned above. As people are eating more processed food day-by-day, this means people are trying to adopt a healthier diet for themselves and their kids by using the Paleo diet, to improve their overall health and avoid unnecessary health problems later on.

Children nowadays consume a lot of added sugar and sodium, developing cardiovascular disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. Helping them cut back on refined sugar and processed foods can reduce the risk of those diseases and improve their health. However, encouraging them to eat more unprocessed food and avoid unhealthy oils can be quite a challenge.

Kids can be picky eaters and they are likely to limit the type of food theyre eating out of preference, so attempting to restrict their diet by adopting a Paleo diet may backfire. The 2020-2025 edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, recommends that children aged 2 years or older should follow a healthy eating pattern including fruit and veggies, whole grains, proteins, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and oils.

But, if you want to avoid added sugar, solid fats, and reduce sodium intake, it might be better to adopt the Paleo diet. When parents do it, their children will follow since they imitate everything their parents do. Being on a Paleo diet with your child will also encourage and help them maintain a healthy diet later on in life.

There is still no research that proves the Paleo diet is bad for your child, the only downsides you can encounter are the fact that this diet is expensive, time-consuming to prepare, and deficient in some key nutrients. For example, wild-caught fish and grass-fed meat can be quite expensive, so if you plan to do this diet long-term it might be difficult to follow on a budget. Also, prepping your food can take up too much time, and it may be very difficult for people who lead a busy lifestyle.

When it comes to nutrient deficiency, the Paleo diet can restrict some foods that are great sources of vitamin D, calcium, and B-vitamins which are important for their growth and development. To avoid this you can consider using plant-based nutrition drinks as a milk alternative that will provide vitamins that you cannot get from dairy since the Paleo diet doesnt consist of dairy products.

Children might feel deprived. Being on a Paleo diet at home might feel easy once you get the hang of it, but what happens when your child goes to a birthday party and is feeling excluded and resentful that they cannot enjoy the cake or some other snacks at the party? There is a long list of foods that are not allowed in Paleo, so, a reasonable solution would be to allow them choices and freedom when they are elsewhere.

Teach your kids to eat more fruits and veggies and less processed food, so they can develop and maintain a healthy diet throughout their life. Instead of making them feel deprived, and labeling foods as bad or good, try using words like healthy and always talk to your doctor if you think your child needs a change of diet. Kids should be able to choose the food they want to eat, to keep them energized and satisfied for longer.

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Paleo Diet for Kids: Adopting the Healthy Choices of the Paleo Lifestyle - Scubby

During the recentFood Systems Forumorganized byPinduoduo, food systems experts discuss plant-based diets as a vehicle to achieving planetary and human health.

The panel, How Can Consumers Eat Well Without Wrecking the Planet featured Bloomberg Distinguished Johns Hopkins Professor Dr. Jessica Fanzo, Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation Senior Advisor Dr. Jeyakumar Henry, and Green Monday Group Founder David Yeung. Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg moderated the discussion.

The panelists discussed strategies to nudge consumers toward plant-based diets. Besides advocating and educating people on the why, equally as important is to provide solutions on how to switch, Yeung explains. His company aims to slowly transition people to plant-based diets by producing alternative proteins with short ingredients lists. They also provide plant-based dining experiences.

The experts also highlighted the need for culturally appropriate protein alternatives, touching on the shortcomings of the 2019EAT Lancet Report. The report played a major role in encouraging global conversations on plant-based diets, such as the one Yeung advocates. But, if you look at the cost of making an EAT Lancet type diet for people in the developing world, its been well established that its far too expensive, Henry says.

Fanzo, who contributed to the EAT-Lance report, acknowledges that it failed to include culturally diverse inputs as well as issues of food access. Henry echoes her concerns, noting the importance of contributions from experts in Africa, Asia, and South America, which can foster more holistic discussions about nutrition.

Yeung and the other panelists also argue that it is important to look across sectors to address these inequalities. They call governments, individuals, and the private sector to take action. Every party needs to be a part of the solution because we are all part of the problem, Yeung says.

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Exploring the Importance and Challenges of Plant-Based Diets Food Tank - Food Tank

Himanshu Taneja, culinary director, Marriott International, discusses the inherent relationship between good food and an elevated mood with Christy Varghese

More than a year after the first pandemic-induced lockdown, most people continue to stay indoors, choosing to work from the safety of their homes. In the backdrop of this major change, there has been a distinctive shift in eating and sleeping schedules, with oscillating moods being a noticeable side-effect.

Earlier, the lockdown was regarded as an opportunity to adopt healthy habits, however, most of us have grown complacent, with our dietary preferences now including a balance of comfort foods, healthy food and stress eating now and then.

Anticipating the trend, Himanshu Trehan, the Culinary Director of Marriott International, introduced a Mood Diet menu, to meet the nutrient requirements of consumers while elevating ones mood. During a quick chat, he guides us through the nuances concerning the menu.

Over the last year, we all have experienced untimely food cravings despite having a full meal when we were stressed. Having studied the pattern, the specially curated Mood Diet was designed around the concept of marrying the daily nutrient requirements with the unconscious food cravings that emerge from a fluctuating temperament. Between quality and what appeals to the taste buds, food goes a long way in enhancing our mood since both have a scientific and sentimental correlation. We have curated recipes which include foods that help enhance and boost moods, Himanshu expressed.

When we quiz him about the conceptualisation of the menu, he told us about the science behind the menu. Your diet plays an imperative role in justifying mood satisfaction as what you eat plays a considerable role in calming your mind and stabilising nutritional imbalances. So, if you are angry or irritated, dopamine-rich resources like nuts, almonds, walnuts and chicken can help you calm your nerves. Similarly, if you want to enhance a romantic mood with your partner, locally sourced figs and a green asparagus salad can help create the mood to match the moment, he shared with a smile.

He further added that the menu was put together to acknowledge the effect of the pandemic on our minds and bodies.

The entire idea behind is to balance the daily nutritional necessities with mood-boosting food offerings. Some of the foods that can be added to our diet include fatty fish, dark chocolate, nuts and seeds, berries and fermented food. These can either be consumed directly or added in combination to prepare a recipe with easily available ingredients at home. These are high in protein and Omega 3 fatty acids and have an immediate mood-boosting effect by increasing levels of serotonin, a mood-regulating hormone, in your body, Himanshu told us.

To alleviate various moods one might experience when restricted indoors, or otherwise, the Mood Diet menu has dishes that range from a Nasi Goreng to a Tandoori Chicken to a Hot Mezze box.

(The Mood Diet menu from Marriott Bonvoy on Wheels is available in 13 hotels across India.)

Continued here:
You in the Mood to Diet? - Daily Pioneer

The road diet underway in front of the EagleVail business center is expected to be complete by the fall, with the county already scheduling a Sept. 13 ribbon cutting for the new trail it will provide.

The highway is in the process of being condensed from five lanes to three lanes near mile markers 172 and 173 to create a new hard surface recreation path for pedestrians and bikers.

Milling operations began in June from mile marker 170 in Dowd Junction through mile marker 174.5 at the Avon/Beaver Creek roundabout.

CDOT says milling work is expected to be complete next week, and paving will take place in the week that follows.

In addition to the new pedestrian lane, crews will also repave Highway 6, repave the I-70 eastbound on-ramp at exit 169 and the westbound off-ramp of exit 171, replace the guardrail in the area, create ADA-compliant ramp upgrades, conduct erosion control and build more wildlife fencing.

The long-imagined effort to create a continuous hard surface trail from Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon will be down to its final few segments with the completion of the EagleVail road diet.

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said the project will improve safety and efficiency for residents, businesses, and visitors traveling by all modes.

These lasting impacts, re-evaluated to be more responsive to community needs, dedicate more space to multi-modal improvements and better support the vitality of EagleVails commercial main streets, she said.

But farther to the east in Dowd Junction, where the highway drops to two lanes, a final segment preventing connectivity from Vail to Edwards will not be realized by going on a road diet.

Kevin Sharkey, the countys trails program manager, said that last section will require more engineering and is on pace to be completed by the fall of 2022.

Sharkey will also cut the ribbon on an important connector in the effort to include Red Cliff and Minturn in the Eagle Valley Trail on Aug. 16. The Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, Eagle County and the town of Minturn recently collaborated to see the completion of a pedestrian bridge in Minturn which will help connect those towns to the Eagle Valley Trail.

The Down Junction to Minturn section of the trail is also a priority, but once the EagleVail section is completed, along with a section between the Horn Ranch Open Space and Edwards, and a section between Duck Pond Open Space and Dotsero and Glenwood Canyon, the trail will complete Eagle Countys section of the paved trail system that envisions connectivity from Breckenridge to Aspen, Sharkey said.

The Eagle Board of County Commissioners has pledged $9 million to complete the remaining sections, but Sharkey said an additional $18 million will likely be required on top of that.

Eagle Countys contribution will jumpstart a multi-year fundraising process led by the ECO Trails Committee, a partnership that includes county government as well as the towns of Gypsum, Eagle, Avon, Vail, Red Cliff and Minturn.

Sharkey said July 8 the Northwest Council of Governments board approved, in concept, the use of their foundation to collect and manage donations, and a fundraising campaign will be launched in the coming weeks.

And on Tuesday, Sharkey said, the Eagle Board of County Commissioners will consider a resolution for obtaining more funding dedicated toward the completion of the Eagle Valley Trail by 2025.

Part of the funding strategy includes the use of annually renewing certificate of participation bonds, a way governments can leverage assets to access cash without voter approval.

More details will be presented at the Tuesday Board of County Commissioners meeting, Sharkey said.

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EagleVail road diet creates another piece of Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon recreation path - Vail Daily News

HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system. If a person does not receive treatment for HIV, they may develop AIDS. People with HIV or AIDS need a diet that can boost their immunity. A balanced eating plan can also help them cope with the symptoms of their condition and the medication side effects.

Eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals can be beneficial for people living with HIV or AIDS. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are good sources of nutrients.

Due to impaired immunity, individuals with HIV or AIDS should follow extra precautions to avoid getting foodborne infections. This includes measures such as avoiding eating raw fish and undercooked eggs.

This article discusses the importance of nutrition and food safety for people living with HIV or AIDS. It also lists the foods to include and avoid and offers tips on how to manage eating-related problems people with HIV or AIDS may have.

Good nutrition is beneficial for everyone, but it is especially important for people living with HIV or AIDS, who have various health challenges. One of these is impaired immunity.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the immune system of a person with HIV has to work harder to fight infections, which requires more energy. For this reason, they may need to eat more food.

HIV and AIDS can also cause weight loss. This is a common problem for people whose HIV has advanced. This is because the infection can reduce appetite and make a person too tired to eat.

Difficulty eating that results in weight loss may also occur due to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and mouth sores.

Read more about HIV symptoms here.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), eating a nutritious diet has various benefits for people with HIV or AIDS, including:

The reduced immunity due to HIV and AIDS makes a person more susceptible to foodborne illnesses.

Germs in food and water can cause infections that last longer and are more serious in people with HIV or AIDS than they are in someone with healthy immunity.

Therefore, in addition to eating nutritiously, those with the conditions should take extra precautions when cooking and eating.

The VA offers the following recommendations:

Water may also contain bacteria, viruses, and parasites. To avoid becoming ill from contaminated water, a person may wish to buy a water filter to install in their home.

A person living with HIV or AIDS may also consider using only boiled water for cooking and drinking.

The AND recommends eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals, as the body needs these for immunity, healthy blood cells, and other aspects of wellness.

Such foods include:

In addition, people with HIV should drink 810 glasses of water or other fluids per day, as it:

Learn about 15 benefits of drinking water here.

The VA recommends the following for a person with HIV:

Foods and beverages people with HIV or AIDS should avoid include:

The VA offers advice on managing various eating problems a person with HIV or AIDS may experience.

A person can try to increase their appetite by doing the following:

Learn about appetite stimulants here.

To manage nausea, a person can take the following steps:

Learn about home remedies for nausea here.

People can try to manage diarrhea in the following ways:

Learn about home remedies for diarrhea here.

To manage difficulty swallowing, individuals can take the following steps:

To prevent weight loss, a person should consume more of the following:

Learn about which foods can help a person gain weight safely here.

If a person has difficulty eating, they should consult a registered dietitian. They can ask a doctor for a referral to one who has experience with people living with HIV or AIDS.

Not everyone with HIV has the same symptoms of the infection or the same side effects of medication. Also, some individuals with HIV may have other conditions that a balanced diet can help with.

A dietitian can tailor a diet to meet a persons specific nutritional needs.

Learn more about the role of nutritionists and dietitians here.

If a person has HIV or AIDS, the right nutrition and diet can help their immune system fight infections.

Certain eating practices can also help manage an array of eating problems that people living with HIV or AIDS experience, such as nausea and difficulty swallowing.

A balanced diet for people with HIV or AIDS involves fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low fat dairy foods. It also limits the intake of salty and sugary foods, along with foods that are high in saturated and trans fats.

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The importance of nutrition and diet in HIV and AIDS - Medical News Today

In a clinical trial carried out by scientists at the Stanford School of Medicine in the US, 36 healthy adults were randomly assigned to a 10-week diet that included either fermented or high-fibre foods rich in legumes, seeds, whole grains, nuts, vegetables and fruits.

The two diets resulted in different effects on the gut microbiome and the immune system. Those eating foods such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, vegetable brine drinks, and kombucha tea experienced an increase in overall microbial diversity, with stronger effects from larger servings.

"This is a stunning finding," said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology. "It provides one of the first examples of how a simple change in diet can reproducibly remodel the microbiota across a cohort of healthy adults."

In addition, four types of immune cells showed less activation in the fermented-food group. The levels of 19 inflammatory proteins measured in blood samples also decreased. One of these proteins, interleukin 6, has been linked to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and chronic stress.

"Microbiota-targeted diets can change immune status, providing a promising avenue for decreasing inflammation in healthy adults," said Christopher Gardner, PhD, the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. "This finding was consistent across all participants in the study who were assigned to the higher fermented food group."

By contrast, none of these 19 inflammatory proteins decreased in participants assigned to the high-fibre diet. On average, the diversity of their gut microbes also remained stable. "We expected high fiber to have a more universally beneficial effect and increase microbiota diversity," said Erica Sonnenburg, PhD, a senior research scientist in basic life sciences, microbiology and immunology. "The data suggest that increased fiber intake alone over a short time period is insufficient to increase microbiota diversity."

A wide body of evidence has demonstrated that diet shapes the gut microbiome, which can affect the immune system and overall health. According to Gardner, low microbiome diversity has been linked to obesity and diabetes.

"We wanted to conduct a proof-of-concept study that could test whether microbiota-targeted food could be an avenue for combatting the overwhelming rise in chronic inflammatory diseases," Gardner said.

The researchers focused on fibre and fermented foods due to previous reports of their potential health benefits. While high-fibre diets have been associated with lower rates of mortality, the consumption of fermented foods can help with weight maintenance and may decrease the risk of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers analyzed blood and stool samples collected during a three-week pre-trial period, the 10 weeks of the diet, and a four-week period after the diet when the participants ate as they chose.

The findings paint a nuanced picture of the influence of diet on gut microbes and immune status. On one hand, those who increased their consumption of fermented foods showed similar effects on their microbiome diversity and inflammatory markers, consistent with prior research showing that short-term changes in diet can rapidly alter the gut microbiome. On the other hand, the limited change in the microbiome within the high-fibre group dovetails with the researchers' previous reports of a general resilience of the human microbiome over short time periods.

The results also showed that greater fibre intake led to more carbohydrates in stool samples, pointing to incomplete fibre degradation by gut microbes. These findings are consistent with other research suggesting that the microbiome of people living in the industrialized world is depleted of fibre-degrading microbes.

"It is possible that a longer intervention would have allowed for the microbiota to adequately adapt to the increase in fiber consumption," Erica Sonnenburg said. "Alternatively, the deliberate introduction of fiber-consuming microbes may be required to increase the microbiota's capacity to break down the carbohydrates."

In addition to exploring these possibilities, the researchers plan to conduct studies to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which diets alter the microbiome and reduce inflammatory proteins. Another goal is to examine whether the consumption of fermented food decreases inflammation or improves other health markers in patients with immunological and metabolic diseases, and in pregnant women and older individuals.

"There are many more ways to target the microbiome with food and supplements, and we hope to continue to investigate how different diets, probiotics and prebiotics impact the microbiome and health in different groups," Justin Sonnenburg said.

Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status

Hannah C. Wastyk, Gabriela K. Fragiadakis, Dalia Perelman, Erica D. Sonnenburg, Christopher D. Gardner, Justin L. Sonnenburg

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.019

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Fermented-food diet increases microbiome diversity and lowers inflammation, study finds - FoodNavigator.com

While our nation has been focused on COVID-19, other public health problems have not disappeared. In particular, microorganisms transmitted by food continue to cause major public health problems in the United States.The bacteriasalmonellaandcampylobacterare of specific concern, accounting for over 70 percent of the foodborne illnesses tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network.Thesetwo bacteria annually accountfor approximately 3 million illnesses in America and cost over 6 billion dollars.Chicken and turkey are among the most common foodborne sources for these bacteria.

As leading food safety scientists in the United States, we have spent our careers trying to fight this problem.Salmonellaandcampylobacterare so damaging to public health that reducing the number of these illnesses is included in the Health and Human Services Healthy People goals, national health goals set every 10 years.The number of people falling sick from these bacteria has not changed in 20 years, though, meaning the Healthy People 2020 illness reduction goals were not met and almost the exact same goals were included inHealthy People 2030goals established last year.

A primary reason for this lack of progress is the outdated food safety regulation of poultry products by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has not substantially changed since the 1990s. The regulation is based on science that lags behind what we know today.

The regulation approaches all types and amounts ofsalmonellaand campylobacter contamination the same.New evidence shows that somesalmonellatypes, such assalmonella Heidelberg, pose a much greater danger to human health than others, such as salmonella Kentucky, which causes very few human illnesses.New technology is also available to distinguish between these types ofSalmonellaand estimate the amount of bacterial contamination on products.Yet, under the current regulatory system, onesalmonellaKentucky organism in a 25-gram sample of chicken is treated the same as 1,000 multi-antibiotic resistantsalmonellaHeidelberg in the same size sample.The same holds true for finding one campylobacteror more dangerous amounts in a sample.USDAfoundsalmonellain 31 percent of ground chicken and 8 percent of chicken partsit sampled at slaughter plants in 2019.It did not consider thesalmonellastrain or whether the sample contained one or 1,000 bacteria in determining if action to protect consumers should be taken.

This system of treating all contamination the same establishes disincentives for controlling the most dangerous types ofsalmonella. AssalmonellaKentucky is the most common type ofsalmonellathat is found on poultry carcasses, resources are spent attempting to preventsalmonellaKentucky contamination and diverted from developing programs targetingsalmonellatypes that actually threaten public health.

Another key problem with current regulations is that they focus solely on the presence ofsalmonellaandcampylobactercontamination in slaughter plants and on poultry end products, drawing attention away from where the bacteria may be most effectively controlled: at the farm. Some European country regulators have already successfully focused on farms, where vaccination (available for somesalmonellatypes), hygiene, and other control practices can have an impact felt throughout the supply chain.Reducing contamination at the farm can also reduce the spread ofsalmonellato nearby water that could contaminate fields used to grow produce. In contrast, the end-product focus in the U.S. establishes incentives for companies to respond tosalmonellaand campylobacterprimarily with post-slaughter controls that allow them to meet the broad regulatory standards.

The changes needed are clear.Regulation at the USDA should better encourage reducing poultry contamination with the most dangerous bacteria at all stages of the supply chain and help prevent them from even entering slaughter plants. In addition, regulations should reduce contamination with thosesalmonellatypes which pose the most danger to the public rather than target allsalmonella and should include a focus on reducing the frequency of contamination with high levels of bacteria.Years of evidence indicate that the current regulations do not work as well as they should to protect public health. Trying to meet the 2030illness reductiongoals with the same regulations and policies that already failed makes no sense.

COVID-19 made clear that there are many weaknesses in our public health system that should have been addressed before the pandemic. We know that our food safety system is antiquated; now is the time for regulatory changes.Lets modernize our regulatory approach, using up-to-date science, to truly build an effective and efficient national food safety system.

Craig Hedbergis professor and interim division head, Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota.J. Glenn Morrisis director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute and professor of medicine at the University of Florida.Martin Wiedmannis a professor of food safety and food science at Cornell University.

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