A study assesses key bacteria that improve human health.
Promoting beneficial gut microbes with whole-food dietary fiber – News
“There’s a public health need to increase dietary fiber intake,” said Bruce Hamaker, Distinguished Professor of Food Science at Purdue University. “Traditionally, dietary fibers, by and large, come from plant-based foods.” These include certain grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, and, to a lesser extent, tubers such as potatoes.
“A 2,000-calorie daily diet would call for 28 grams of fiber, the equivalent of a combination of one cup of cooked beans, two cups of brown rice, one cup of broccoli and one banana. Not all fibers are created equal, however.”
“Good gut health means low inflammation and good barrier function, the epithelial cell barrier between the gut and the body,” Hamaker said. The barrier prevents toxins in the gut from freely moving into the body, causing problems such as chronic inflammation, which is linked to various metabolic diseases.
“Most fibers that come from whole foods are cell-wall-based plant fibers. Hamaker said. “Most of the time, they’re insoluble fibers.”
Many trillions of the bacteria that make their home in the human gut depend on dietary fibers for their food.”
