The Mediterranean diet allied to the intestine: it increases the good bacteria

A new study confirms that the Mediterranean diet is capable of increasing good bacteria and is therefore a friend of the intestinal system.

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The Mediterranean diet is a boon for the intestine. The undisputed king of our tables, the eating style linked to Mediterranean countries today gains a further point in his favor: capable of increasing good bacteria, it turns out to be (also) a friend of the intestinal system.

This is confirmed by a study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in North Carolina, according to which following a plant-based diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, increases the good bacteria that live in the intestine by up to 7% compared to only 0,5, XNUMX% of a meat-centric diet.

It is no wonder to know, once again, how much the Mediterranean diet is only a harbinger of benefits: it protects the heart and fights depression, reduces the risk of cancer recurrence and fights diabetes.

Now it turns out that the Mediterranean diet is also capable of increase the amount of good bacteria. To arrive at these conclusions, the scholars compared two diets of equal calories: a Mediterranean diet - including fish, fish oil, olive oil, vegetable juice and fruit puree - and a diet based on meat and a high level of sugar and fat, with lard, butter, animal fat, sucrose and fructose.

At the end of the investigations, the microbiome, that is the good and bad bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract was analyzed in the laboratory and it was found that the bacterial gut diversity in the group following the Mediterranean diet was much higher compared to that of those who had followed the diet more focused on meat.

“We have about 2 billion good and bad bacteria living in our gut - explains lead author Hariom Yadav. If the bacteria are of a certain type and not adequately balanced, our health can suffer ”.

Basically, research shows that good bacteria, especially Lactobacillus, most of which are probiotics, significantly increase with the Mediterranean diet.

A perfect combination, considering that it has also been shown that the Mediterranean diet and probiotics, the good bacteria contained in many fermented foods, are generally fundamental in cancer prevention.

Green light, therefore, to all that good offers our main diet, without exceeding with red meat and following the wonderful variety of fruit and vegetables offered by the seasons.

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