[The microbiome’s signals regulate the growth and function of
energy-producing mitochondria across many cell types. The
ultraprocessed foods that make up an increasing fraction of American
diets can disrupt these signals.]
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WHY YOU SHOULD FEED YOUR HANGRY GUT BACTERIA  
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Christopher Damman
April 10, 2023
The Conversation
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_ The microbiome’s signals regulate the growth and function of
energy-producing mitochondria across many cell types. The
ultraprocessed foods that make up an increasing fraction of American
diets can disrupt these signals. _

,

 

Diet-related chronic diseases have reached
[[link removed]]
a critical juncture [[link removed]] in the U.S.

Nearly half the population has prediabetes or diabetes
[[link removed]]. Over
40% are overweight or obese
[[link removed]]. One in nine people over
the age of 65
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has Alzheimer’s disease, the development of which researchers are
exploring the potential role of diet
[[link removed](20)30231-3]. Poor diet is also
linked to poor mental health
[[link removed]], cardiovascular disease
[[link removed]] and cancer
[[link removed]]. It
was responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S.
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and accounted for over US$140 billion
[[link removed](20)30203-6] in U.S. health care
spending in 2016.

Though American waists are getting bigger, research is showing that
the gut microbiome – the bacteria living in our digestive tracts –
and the energy-producing compartments of cells, the mitochondria,
remain hungry for nutrients missing in the American diet.

I am a physician scientist and gastroenterologist
[[link removed]] who has
spent over 20 years studying how food can affect the gut microbiome
and whole body health. The ultraprocessed food that makes up an
increasing part the American diet
[[link removed]] has removed vital nutrients
from food. Adding those nutrients back may be important for health in
part by feeding the microbiome and mitochondria that turn food into
fuel.

Your health is what you eat

Research has consistently shown that the Mediterranean diet
[[link removed]] and other whole food diets
[[link removed]] are associated with
better health and longer lives, and ultraprocessed foods and drinks
[[link removed]]
like soda, chips and fast food, among others, are linked with poor
health outcomes [[link removed]] such
as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases.

But improving the diet of an individual, let alone a population, is
challenging. Whole foods are sometimes less convenient
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and less tasty [[link removed]] for modern
lifestyles and preferences. Furthermore, food processing can be
beneficial by preventing spoilage and extending shelf life
[[link removed]]. Whole
grain processing [[link removed]] in
particular extends shelf life by removing the germ and bran that
otherwise rapidly spoil. Long-term storage of affordable calories has
helped address food insecurity
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a primary challenge in public health.

What you eat changes the composition of your gut microbiome.

Much of the public health conversation around diet has focused on what
to avoid: added sugars and refined carbs, some fats, salt and
additives. But modern food processing, while increasing the
concentration of some nutrients, has removed other key nutrients,
producing potential long-term health costs
[[link removed]]. Equally important is what
to add back [[link removed]] into diets:
fibers, phytonutrients
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micronutrients, missing fats and fermented foods.

Only 5% of the U.S. population gets sufficient fiber
[[link removed]], a prebiotic nutrient
linked to metabolic, immune and neurologic health. Americans are
likely also deficient in phytonutrients
[[link removed]], potassium
[[link removed]] and certain healthy fats
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linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Fermentation [[link removed]] is
nature’s version of processing, creating foods with natural
preservatives, flavors and vitamins. Recent research suggests
fermented foods can improve gut microbiome diversity
[[link removed]] and dampen systemic
inflammation.

Figuring out which bioactive nutrients contribute to disease can help
both individuals and institutions develop diets and foods that are
personalized to different health conditions, economic constraints and
taste preferences. It can also help maximize nutrients in a way that
is convenient, affordable and familiar to the modern palate.

Of microbiomes and mitochondria

Understanding how nutrients affect the gut microbiome and mitochondria
could help determine which ingredients to add to the diet and which to
temper.

In your lower gut, bacteria transform undigested bioactive nutrients
into biochemical signals [[link removed]]
that stimulate gut hormones to slow down digestion. These signals also
regulate the immune system, controlling how much of the body’s
energy goes toward inflammation and fighting infection, and cognition
[[link removed]], influencing appetite
and even mood [[link removed]].

A number of factors are involved in aging.

The microbiome’s biochemical signals also regulate the growth and
function [[link removed]] of
energy-producing mitochondria across many cell types, including those
in fat, muscles, heart and the brain. When these cues are missing in
ultraprocessed diets [[link removed]],
mitochondria function less well
[[link removed]], and their dysregulation has
been linked to obesity [[link removed]],
diabetes [[link removed]], Alzheimer’s
disease [[link removed]], mood disorders
[[link removed]] and cancer
[[link removed]]. A better
understanding of how diet could improve the function of the
microbiome-mitochondria axis
[[link removed]] could help provide a
way to reduce the burden of chronic disease.

The Greek physician Hippocrates
[[link removed]], regarded as the
father of medicine, supposedly once said “Let food be thy
medicine,” and a growing body research
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food can be medicine. I believe that shining a light on the connection
between diet, health and the microbiome and mitochondria
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which unhealthy aging isn’t an inevitability
[[link removed]] of growing older.[The
Conversation]

Christopher Damman
[[link removed]],
Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, _University of Washington
[[link removed]]_

This article is republished from The Conversation
[[link removed]] under a Creative Commons license. Read
the original article
[[link removed]].

* Science
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* microbiome
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* diet
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* disease
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