Mediterranean diets boost ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, study says

Eating a Mediterranean diet boosts ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, new research suggests.

Eating lots of vegetables, fish and olive oil improves good bacteria in the stomach by up to seven per cent compared with a western diet, a study found. 

As The Daily Mail reports, lead author Dr Hariom Yadav, from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, said: 'We have about two billion good and bad bacteria living in our gut.

'If the bacteria are of a certain type and not properly balanced, our health can suffer.

'Our study showed that the good bacteria, primarily Lactobacillus, most of which are probiotic, were significantly increased in the Mediterranean-diet group.'

Poor gut bacteria has previously been linked to conditions such as depression and pneumonia. 

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, used animals to mimic two human diets, as this allowed researchers to carefully monitor and control the nutrients ingested. 

According to Dr Yadav, studies in humans rely on self-reporting questionnaires which may be 'only estimated'.

The study compared a typical western diet, which is made up of lard, cholesterol and refined sugars, with the Mediterranean way of eating.

Both diets contain butter, eggs and sucrose, as well as the same number of calories.

After 30 months, the research team analysed the bacteria in the digestive track of animals.

They found the diversity of gut bacteria in the group which ate the Mediterranean-style diet was much greater. 

According to the researchers, this data will be useful for further studies aimed at understanding how the diet affects human health in areas including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and psychiatric disorders.

This comes after research released last December suggested Cambridge University scientists have found a way to turbo-charge the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet.

Researchers have created a supplement known as 'Ateronon Heart', which combines the heart-health benefits of a key component in tomatoes with milk, which makes the compound easier to absorb.

In a world first, they have been issued with a patent for the all-natural, over-the-counter product, which slows down the build-up of plaque in the arteries, preventing heart disease.

Previous studies show the supplement, which retails at £19.99 for 30 capsules, improves blood flow by 53 per cent.

Nick Sutcliffe, the Cambridge lawyer who steered the patenting process, said: 'There is increasing interest in natural ingredients.

'People are looking for cures and if they can find them in plants that is very much easier than developing synthetic drugs to treat disease.'

More than one million women and 1.6 million men are living with heart disease in the UK, which can lead to heart attacks and failure. 

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