AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Our guts are home to trillions of microbes that have a profound influence on our overall health. Now, a new study finds that, whether you're vegan, vegetarian or an omnivore, the key to a healthy gut microbiome is the same. NPR's Maria Godoy explains.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: The bacteria in our gut are tiny, but their impact is mighty. Gut microbes break down food that your body can't digest. And in turn, they produce chemical messengers that influence everything from your blood sugar levels to your immune system. Some of these messengers can boost health. Others can hinder it. It all depends on what you feed your microbes.
NICOLA SEGATA: The microbiome modulates the effect of diet on our health. This basically decides our health status.
GODOY: That's Nicola Segata. He's a researcher at the University of Trento in Italy who uses genomic sequencing to study the microbiome. He and an international team of colleagues wanted to know how different diet patterns shaped the kind of microbes that dominate the gut. So they analyzed stool samples from more than 21,000 people in three countries - the U.S., the U.K. and Italy - who followed different diets.
SEGATA: We looked at these three dietary patterns - vegan, vegetarians and omnivores.
GODOY: And what they found is the more plant-based foods people ate, the more gut bacteria they had that are linked with better health, such as less inflammation and a stronger immune system. The good news for meat eaters is that, when it comes to good bacteria, their microbiomes looked a lot like those of vegans and vegetarians so long as they ate lots of plants. Hannah Holscher is a microbiome researcher at the University of Illinois who was not involved in the study.
HANNAH HOLSCHER: So what the researchers are essentially saying is that eating an array of plant-based foods is more important than strictly adhering to a vegan or vegetarian diet pattern.
GODOY: In other words, it's the overall quality of the diet that counts. The study is one of the largest of its kind. Holscher, who is also a dietician, says it adds to existing evidence that supports advice nutritionists love to give - for better health, eat the rainbow.
HOLSCHER: Meaning lots of different types of colorful plant foods. Think tomatoes, butternut squash, pineapple, avocado, broccoli and kale, blueberries and eggplant. And really don't forget about those whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.
GODOY: She says a simple goal is to eat five different plant-based foods every day. Think about making bean soups with lots of vegetables or mixing up some pears or berries in your salad.
HOLSCHER: Make some overnight oats before you go to bed. When you're leaving for work in the morning, you're looking around - what can you toss into your bag? - an apple, an orange, a banana.
GODOY: She says give yourself as many opportunities as possible to snack on more plants every day.
Maria Godoy, NPR News.
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