The results of a study published in The Journal of Nutrition linked dietary consumption of live microbes with a variety of measures associated with improved health outcomes.

Modern food production and processing along with improved hygiene and sanitation has reduced the number of live microbes consumed.  Data also show that western diets can negatively impact the diversity and composition of the colonic microbiota. Although consuming foods with an abundance of live dietary microbes has been hypothesized to contribute to human health, direct evidence is lacking.

To determine whether the consumption of live microbes could potentially confer health benefits, Sanders (International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics) and colleagues compared live microbe consumption with physiological parameters. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 2001-2008), a nationally representative survey conducted to assess the health and nutritional status of Americans, were included in this study. Foods with live microbial content and fermented foods were grouped into categories as low, medium, and high.  Physiological parameters included blood pressure, anthropometric measures, blood lipids, blood glucose, insulin, and biomarkers of inflammation.

Consumption of foods with medium to high amounts of live microbes was associated with lower blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, blood glucose, insulin triglyceride levels, C-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation), and higher HDL cholesterol levels. These associations were favorable to population health. For fermented food consumption, similar findings were observed, although the effects on blood glucose and insulin were less clear.

In general, study results provide additional evidence that consumption of foods with high microbial concentrations is associated with better health outcomes.  These findings provide preliminary evidence to support the hypothesis that foods containing live microbes may provide health benefits and may lead to future recommendations that live microbes are part of healthy eating patterns.

References

Hill C, Tancredi DJ, Cifelli CJ, Slavin JL, Gahche J, Marco ML, Hutkins R, Fulgoni III VL, Merenstein D, Sanders ME. Positive Health Outcomes Associated with Live Microbe Intake from Foods, Including Fermented Foods, assessed using the NHANES Database. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 153, Issue 4, April 2023, Pages 1143-1149, doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.019.

Images via canva.com.

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Kathy Beerman, PhD

Dr. Kathy Beerman teaches in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University. The author of several published articles, she is interested in research that focuses on the efficacy of a novel approach to treating iron deficiency anemia in rural regions of Guatemala and Ecuador. Dr. Beerman teaches an undergraduate nutrition course for health majors, as well as a course that prepares students to participate in a 10-day medical mission to Guatemala. Since joining the faculty at Washington State University in 1990, she has been the recipient of several teaching awards (the Burlington Northern Faculty Meritorious Achievement in Teaching Award, the R.M. Wade Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction). More recently, she received the CAS Outstanding Achievement Award in International Activities (2017) and the President’s Award for Leadership (2018). Other scholarly activities include co-author of two introductory nutrition textbooks (Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food and NUTR).