Plant-based foods and the microbiome in the preservation of health and prevention of disease

Associations of urinary phytoestrogens with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in adults: a population-based cohort study

Background

The overall understanding of the correlations between mortality risk and phytoestrogens in general population remains limited. We examined the association between urinary phytoestrogen levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods

Weighted Cox proportional hazard regression models were employed to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Nonlinear relationships were assessed using multivariable-adjusted restricted cubic splines (RCS).

Results

In the fully adjusted model, the highest quartiles of urinary genistein levels were correlated with significantly elevated all-cause (HR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.16-1.59) and cardiovascular (HR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.20-2.09) mortality. Urinary enterolactone levels in the third quartile were associated with reduced all-cause (HR = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.65-0.90) and cardiovascular (HR = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.55-0.99) mortality. In the highest quartiles of urinary daidzein levels, the cardiovascular mortality was significantly increased (HR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.09-1.90). RCS showed an non-linear relationship between urinary daidzein levels and all-cause mortality (P = 0.04).

Conclusion

In the context of a nationally representative sample, genistein exhibited associations with elevated all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, whereas enterolactone showed an association with reduced mortality. The dose-response relationship between urinary daidzein levels and all-cause mortality as well as sex-specific disparities in the impact of phytoestrogen levels should be considered.

Eating away cancer: the potential of diet and the microbiome for shaping immunotherapy outcome

The gut microbiome (GMB) plays a substantial role in human health and disease. From affecting gut barrier integrity to promoting immune cell differentiation, the GMB is capable of shaping host immunity and thus oncogenesis and anti-cancer therapeutic response, particularly with immunotherapy. Dietary patterns and components are key determinants of GMB composition, supporting the investigation of the diet-microbiome-immunity axis as a potential avenue to enhance immunotherapy response in cancer patients. As such, this review will discuss the role of the GMB and diet on anti-cancer immunity. We demonstrate that diet affects anti-cancer immunity through both GMB-independent and GMB-mediated mechanisms, and that different diet patterns mold the GMB's functional and taxonomic composition in distinctive ways. Dietary modulation therefore shows promise as an intervention for improving cancer outcome; however, further and more extensive research in human cancer populations is needed.

Understanding the gut microbiota by considering human evolution: a story of fire, cereals, cooking, molecular ingenuity, and functional cooperation

SUMMARYThe microbial community inhabiting the human colon, referred to as the gut microbiota, is mostly composed of bacterial species that, through extensive metabolic networking, degrade and ferment components of food and human secretions. The taxonomic composition of the microbiota has been extensively investigated in metagenomic studies that have also revealed details of molecular processes by which common components of the human diet are metabolized by specific members of the microbiota. Most studies of the gut microbiota aim to detect deviations in microbiota composition in patients relative to controls in the hope of showing that some diseases and conditions are due to or exacerbated by alterations to the gut microbiota. The aim of this review is to consider the gut microbiota in relation to the evolution of Homo sapiens which was heavily influenced by the consumption of a nutrient-dense non-arboreal diet, limited gut storage capacity, and acquisition of skills relating to mastering fire, cooking, and cultivation of cereal crops. The review delves into the past to gain an appreciation of what is important in the present. A holistic view of "healthy" microbiota function is proposed based on the evolutionary pathway shared by humans and gut microbes.

Plant-based diet and COVID-19 severity: results from a cross-sectional study

Although previous findings have shown the beneficial role of healthy eating pattern on the human immune system, the association between plant-based diet and COVID-19 severity has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to determine the possible role of plant-based diet index (PDI) in COVID-19 severity. This cross-sectional, multicentral study was conducted on 141 patients with confirmed COVID-19. Dietary intakes of the patients were evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Then, PDI was compared between patients who needed to be hospitalised (considered severe cases), and those who got treatment at home (considered non-severe cases). After adjustment for confounders including age, sex, energy intake and body mass index, lower odds of hospitalisation were found for participants having a greater score of overall PDI (OR per 10 units increase: 0.42; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.80) and healthy PDI (OR per 10 unit increase: 0.45; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.78). In conclusion, our data presented that there is a relation between PDI and lower risk of hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients, possibly through boosting the immune function.

Impacts of food consumption on biochemical markers and anthropometric variables of women with metabolic syndrome

BACKGROUND

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of diseases characterized by insulin resistance. MetS has high prevalence among women, which is impacted by food intake. MetS is related to high level of inflammation; however, the impacts of whole diets on biochemical and anthropometrical markers and the effects on MetS need to be further elucidated. In this case, the objective of this study was to assess the relationship between food intake, biochemical and anthropometrical markers in women with MetS.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study, in which 1 hundred and 22 women participated in the assessment of biochemical (glycated hemoglobin, glycaemia, insulin, uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, triglycerides, C-reactive protein) and anthropometrical (body mass, height, waist circumference - WC) variables. Participants also performed blood pressure and 24-hour dietary recall assessments. Out of the 122 participants, 44 (36%, age: 59 ± 11 years) had MetS and were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

The consumption of monounsaturated fats had direct relationship with glycaemia (b = 7.48), whereas the consumption of fibers had inverse relationship with body mass (b = - 0.71) and WC (b = - 0.56).

CONCLUSION

The intake of monounsaturated fats and fiber was related to higher blood sugar levels and lower body mass and WC, respectively. These relationships elucidate and highlight the significance and importance of adequate diet in women with MetS.

The Young Age and Plant-Based Diet Hypothesis for Low SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa

Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), in December 2019, the infection has spread around the globe. Some of the risk factors include social distancing, mask wearing, hand washing with soap, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and dysbiosis. Evidence has shown the incidence of total infection and death rates to be lower in sub-Saharan Africa when compared with North Africa, Europe and North America and many other parts of the world. The higher the metabolic syndrome rate, the higher the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Africa has a lower rate of metabolic syndrome risk than many other continents. This paradox has puzzled several in the biomedical and scientific communities. Published results of research have demonstrated the exciting correlation that the combination of young age of the population coupled with their native plant-based diet has lowered their risk factors. The plant-based diet include whole grains (millet, sorghum), legumes (black-eye peas, dry beans, soybean), vegetables, potato, sweet potato, yams, squash, banana, pumpkin seeds, and moringa leaves, and lower consumption of meat. The plant-based diet results in a different gut microbiota than of most of the rest of the world. This has a significant impact on the survival rate of other populations. The "plant-based diet" results in lower rates of obesity, diabetes and dysbiosis, which could contribute to lower and less severe infections. However, these hypotheses need to be supported by more clinical and biostatistics data.

Adherence to plant-based dietary pattern and risk of breast cancer among Iranian women

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies assessed the link between plant based diet and breast cancer risk rather than healthy and unhealthy plant based diet. This study examined the relation between plant-based dietary pattern and risk of breast cancer among Iranian women.

METHODS

This hospital-based case-control study was conducted among 412 women with pathologically confirmed breast cancer within the past year and 456 apparently healthy controls. Dietary data were collected using a validated and reliable 168-item FFQ. We created three patterns including overall plant-based diet index (PDI), a healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), and an unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI). The risk of breast cancer was compared across quartiles of PDI, hPDI, and uPDI.

RESULTS

we did not find significant association between adherence to PDI and uPDI score and odds of breast cancer among women. However, a greater score of hPDI was inversely associated to the risk of breast cancer (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.43-0.93, P = 0.01), in the crude model. After adjustment for age and energy, we saw stronger association between breast cancer risk and higher hPDI score (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.37-0.82, P = 0.002). After stratified by menopausal status, we did not find significant association between PDI and uPDI score and risk of breast cancer. However, pre- and postmenopausal women in the highest quartile of hPDI score had lower risk of breast cancer than those in the lowest quartile.

CONCLUSIONS

we found an inverse significant association between hPDI and odds of breast cancer in the whole population of study. After stratifying by menopausal status, this correlation was also seen both in pre and postmenopausal women.

Diet and the Human Gut Microbiome: An International Review

This review summarizes the key results of recently published studies on the effects of dietary change and nutritional intervention on the human microbiome from around the world, focusing on the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It first explores mechanisms that might explain the ability of fiber-rich foods to suppress the incidence and mortality from westernized diseases, notably cancers of the colon, breast, liver, cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory diseases, diabetes, and obesity (O'Keefe in Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 4(12):984-996, 2019; Am J Clin Nutr 110:265-266, 2019). It summarizes studies from Africa which suggest that disturbance of the colonic microbiome may exacerbate chronic malnutrition and growth failure in impoverished communities and highlights the importance of breast feeding. The American section discusses the role of the microbiome in the swelling population of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes and examines the effects of race, ethnicity, geography, and climate on microbial diversity and metabolism. The studies from Europe and Asia extoll the benefits of whole foods and plant-based diets. The Asian studies examine the worrying changes from low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets to high-fat, low-carbohydrate ones and the increasing appearance of westernized diseases as in Africa and documents the ability of high-fiber traditional Chinese diets to reverse type 2 diabetes and control weight loss. In conclusion, most of the studies reviewed demonstrate clear changes in microbe abundances and in the production of fermentation products, such as short-chain fatty acids and phytochemicals following dietary change, but the significance of the microbiota changes to human health, with the possible exception of the stimulation of butyrogenic taxa by fiber-rich foods, is generally implied and not measured. Further studies are needed to determine how these changes in microbiota composition and metabolism can improve our health and be used to prevent and treat disease.