More Diversity In Human Diet Would Reduce Diabetes, Obesity

People may be getting fatter and more prone to chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes because their homogeneous diet has disrupted the microbiota environment in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Over the years agricultural methods and climate change have narrowed dietary choices to five animal species and 12 plant species. Rice, maize and wheat account for 60 percent of all the calories consumed 75 percent of the global population. Diet regulates the GI microbiome, the ecosystem of the human gut that needs a diversity to function optimally. A U.S. scientist developed and tested one food containing inulin, beta glucan and antioxidants, and another with whole soybean pods. He found that the concoctions shifted the composition of the microbiome of study participants with beneficial health effects.