Coffee, tea, and wine drinkers will be pleased to learn that researchers have discovered the popular beverages can provide a healthier and more diverse microbe community. However, drinking sugary drinks or full fat milk, and eating high-carb meals or many snack foods can have the opposite effect. The saying "you are what you eat" seems to be true in terms of people's gut microbiome.
This study was published this week in the journal Science.
Lead author Dr. Alexandra Zhernakova is a researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She explains that researchers found 60 dietary factors that affected the diversity of gut microorganisms, according to Los Angeles Times. However, more diversity is healthier.
A person's microbiome includes a community of mostly good bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in and on their body. The tiny organisms process food and regulate the human immune system. Medical experts also believe a person's microbiome can affect obesity, diseases, and mood.
Zhernakova's research team analyzed the gut microbes of over 1,100 people. They discovered 126 factors related to a person's microbial community including those linked to diet (60), drugs (19), diseases (12), and smoking (4).
Jingyuan Fu is a systems geneticist at the University of Groningen. She stated that this was the first study that evaluated so many host/environmental factors related to gut microbiome on such a large scale.
Researchers compared stool samples with data from the Lifelines-DEEP study. They learned that fruits, veggies, and yogurt had a positive effect on gut microbes' diversity. Drinking tea, coffee, wine, and buttermilk also had the same effect.
Researchers also learned that women often have more microbial diversity than men, and older people's gut microbes tend to have more diversity than younger people's.
In related news, another recent study showed that drinking coffee can cut the risk of colon cancer by up to 50 percent, according to Health. Researchers learned that both regular and decaf coffee can help to lower cancer risk.
Dr. Gad Rennert of the National Israeli Cancer Control Center in Haifa, Israel explained the study showed that it is the antioxidants rather than caffeine in a cup of coffee that provide the health benefit. They are released during the roasting process.
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