Peanuts, herbs, might have a positive impact on gut microbiome: Research

According to new Penn State research eating an ounce of peanuts or a teaspoon of herbs and spices daily may influence the composition of gut flora which is a sign of overall health In two separate studies nutritional scientists studied the effects of small changes to the average American diet and found improvements to the gut microbiomeThe human gut microbiome is a collection of trillions of microorganisms that live inside the intestinal tract The bacteria there can affect nearly all systems of the body including metabolism and the building and maintaining of the immune systemResearch has shown that people who have a lot of different microbes have better health and a better diet than those who dont have much bacterial diversity said Penny M KrisEtherton Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences Penn StateFor the peanut study which published in the journal Clinical Nutrition KrisEtherton and her colleagues compared the effects of snacking on 28 grams approx 1 ounce of peanuts per day versus a higher carbohydrate snackcrackers and cheese At the end of six weeks participants who ate the peanut snack showed an increased abundance of Ruminococcaceae a group of bacteria linked to healthy liver metabolism and immune functionIn the herbs and spices study which published in The Journal of Nutrition scientists analyzed the impact of adding blends of herbs and spices such as cinnamon ginger cumin turmeric rosemary oregano basil and thyme to the controlled diets of participants at risk for cardiovascular disease The team examined three doses about 18 teaspoon per day a little more than 34 teaspoon per day and about 1 12 teaspoon per day At the end of four weeks participants showed an increase in gut bacteria diversity including an increase in Ruminococcaceae most notably with the medium and high doses of herbs and spicesIts such a simple thing that people can do said KrisEtherton The average American diet is far from ideal so I think everyone could benefit by adding herbs and spices Its also a way of decreasing sodium in your diet but flavoring foods in a way that makes them palatable and in fact delicious Taste is really a top criterion for why people choose the foods they doIn both studies the increase in Ruminococcaceae and bacterial diversity was viewed positively as scientists continue to learn more about the connection between the gut microbiota and a spectrum of health factors from blood pressure to weight However KrisEtherton is quick to point out that more research is needed to understand all of the implicationsShe said We need a lot more research on the microbiome to see what its proper place is in terms of overall health Other authors on the papers are as follows Peanut study Philip A Sapp Penn State Department of Nutrition Sciences Elke A Arnesen Jeremy R Chen See and Regina Lamendella Juniata College Department of Biology and Wright Labs and Kristina S Petersen Penn State Department of Nutrition Sciences and Texas Tech University Department of Nutritional SciencesThe work was supported by The Peanut Institute and Penn States Clinical amp Translational Research Institute This research was also supported by a grant to Juniata College from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education Program as well as by the National Science FoundationHerbs and Spices study Kristina S Peterson Penn State Department of Nutrition Sciences and Texas Tech University Department of Nutritional Sciences Samantha Anderson Jeremy R Chen See Jillian Leister and Regina Lamendella Juniata College Department of Biology and Wright LabsThis study was funded by the McCormick Science Institute In addition the study was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences NIH The study also received support for computational resources from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education Program as well as the National Science FoundationAlso Read Gutfriendly bacteria can aid in treating inflammatory bowel disease StudyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever