The Popular Weight Loss Diets That Are Worst For Your Gut Health

Choosing a good diet should not only involve the effect on weight, since the response of the immune system also depends on the microbiota

When someone looks for the best option to lose weight , they usually turn to popular diets that ensure rapid weight loss . Thus, choices such as the paleo diet or the keto diet have become quite popular due to their results. However, a scientific study reveals that betting on this type of diet may be spectacular on the scale but it will negatively affect the microbiota , with the healthy damage that it entails.

An investigation led by the University of California San Diego that has been published in the scientific journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition began by dividing the types of diet into five different patterns:

Vegetarians, vegans or basically vegetarians. With little or no meat consumption and a high consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, it is the highest in fiber.

Flexitarian. It includes large amounts of dairy, some meat, and many plant-based foods.

Diet with some care for health. Rich in nuts, whole grains and dairy, but also with refined grain sugars and low in vegetables.

Standard American Diet: Includes a large amount of sugary drinks, processed foods and few plant-based foods. According to the researchers, it is the poorest in quality of all.

Exclusive diets: They restrict carbohydrates and are the ones that add the most foods of animal origin and fats. It included practically no starchy foods or sweet products. This section includes popular diets such as the keto diet or the paleo diet.

To check intestinal health, 1,800 adults were analyzed and classified according to these eating patterns. Afterwards, the results were analyzed.

Among all, the best for the microbiota turned out to be the flexitarian . "Individuals following a flexitarian diet, rich in plant-based foods but also including meat and dairy, had one of the most diverse gut microbiomes , especially compared to a standard Western diet," the study says.

On the other hand, both the mainly vegetarian and the standard diets were found to provide similar but not as rich variety as the flexitarian. According to experts, this is because although fruits and vegetables provide intestinal variety, so do animal products.

Finally, the classification that included low-carbohydrate diets revealed too low a level of a key bacteria in the human body. " Individuals following an exclusive low-carbohydrate diet composed primarily of fat, animal products, and non-starchy vegetables had the lowest amount of Bifidobacterium , a type of bacteria associated with plant proteins that has been shown to have beneficial qualities for their gut microbiome" , indicates the investigation.

"This study, along with previous research, reinforces the idea that a healthy gut microbiota relies on a balance between all food groups, without completely restricting high-fiber grain foods or animal products, such as dairy products." fermented dairy products", summarized doctor Miguel Freitas in the presentation of the results.

The importance of the microbiota

The researchers recalled the importance of a healthy microbiota for the body. The presence of these bacteria in the gut is beneficial to the immune system, but gut health also affects behavior and mood .

"People may overlook that what they eat and what they avoid can affect their gut microbiome. Diet is known to influence the diversity and composition of our gut microbiome, which we now know has a tremendous impact on our health." general," warned Miguel Freitas.