Your Microbiome (Bacteria) Is a Wonder of Nature: Activate & Optimize Eating for Healthy Longevity: (How to Recover Your Health Naturally – Burn Fat 24/7, Build Lean Muscle & Eliminate Sugar for Healthy Longevity)

By Ositadinma Anaedu

The book explores amazing emerging discoveries and knowledge of the human microbiome, its role in human health, its interaction with the diet, and the application of new research findings into tools and products that improve the nutritional quality of the food supply. Several major overarching themes emerged over the course of the book:

• The microbiome is integral to human physiology, health, and disease.
• The microbiome is probably the most intimate connection that humans have with their external environment, mostly through diet.
• How fiber, the carbohydrates in our diet, broken down by the bacteria in our gut energize the formation of a healthy microbiome.
• Dietary interventions intended to have an impact on host health via their impact on the gut bacteria are being developed, and seeing tremendous success.
• Successes attained by traditional cultures, Blue Zone communities and famous athletes, eating natural foods for great health, extraordinary fitness and healthy longevity, as guides for modern diets.

The book highlights through research studies the far reaching impact of microbiome on gastrointestinal disease and gastrointestinal syndrome, ulcerative colitis, overweight, obesity, diabetics, heart disease, stroke, physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, cancers as well as how prebiotic and probiotic in natural whole foods can help to reverse and prevent diseases.

One key universal microbial property is that unlike the human genome, the human microbiome is acquired anew each generation, with vaginally born babies acquiring different microbiomes than cesarean section (C-section) that can provide them strong immune system in life. Surprisingly, new emerging discovery on saliva microbial impact on gut and brain health.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Nov 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984593214

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Copyright © 2020 by Ositadinma Anaedu.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/11/2020

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To my wife, Amaka, and children for their unconditional love and support.

To Ochioha Grace Aguluka, our maternal grandmother, for

showing us how to live healthily to the ripe age of 107 years.

To our late parents, Paulinus and Janet, and my siblings,

Uchem, Ekwy, Ann, Jude, Uk, Chidi, Onyi, and Ujunwa.

And to all who strive to change the narrative of

rampaging preventable diseases worldwide.

CONTENTS

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Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1     Your Microbiome Is a Healing Force of Nature

Chapter 2     The Impact of the Microbiome on Human Health

Chapter 3     Fiber Generating Microbes: How To Keep Your Gut Bacteria In Amazing Shape

Chapter 4     Inadequate Fiber Intake And Deadly Damage Of High Sugar To Your Gut Bacteria, Brain & Body

Chapter 5     Impact of Fiber Generating Microbes on Overweight and Obesity

Chapter 6     Impact of Gut Microbiota on Diabetes Mellitus

Chapter 7     Low Blood Sugar

Chapter 8     Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Microbiome: An Innovative Therapy for Optimal Health

Chapter 9     Microbes and Prevention Cancers & Other Disorders

Chapter 10   Gut Microbiota and High Blood Pressure Control

Chapter 11   Your Gut Microbes and Low Blood Pressure

Chapter 12   Gastric Gut Microbiota and Link to Stomach Ulcers

Chapter 13   Gut Microbiota Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs)

Chapter 14   Fermented Foods lmpact on Gut Healthy Microbes

Chapter 15   Microbiota and Prostate Cancer Development

Chapter 16   Foods To Avoid Or Eat To Maintain Healthy Microbiome

Chapter 17   All Forms of Sugar To Avoid & Whole Natural Foods High In Fiber To Eat For Your Healthy Microbiome

Chapter 18   Diversity of Microbes in Your Mouth and Impact on Your Health

Chapter 19   Bacteria In Your Armpits, Belly Buttons, and Chronic Wounds

Chapter 20   Where Harmful Bacteria Lives and How You Can Avoid It"?

Chapter 21   The Microbiome and Food Allergies

Chapter 22   Gut Microbiota and Irritable Bowel Symdrone (IBM) (Diarrheal Disease; Constipation)

Chapter 23   Respiratory Microbiome and Chronic Respiratory Infections

Chapter 24   Microbiome Impact on Viruses (Cold, Flu, Influenza & COVID-19)

Chapter 25   Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Chapter 26   Impact of Microbiome on Age-Defying Athletic Longevity & Ultra Competitiveness

Chapter 27   Template For Healthy Longevity: Secrets of Ageing In World Longest Living People (It Is All In Your Gut)

FOREWORD

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The human race has only recently begun to appreciate the amazing dimensions of the human body that is home to trillions of microbes, even far greater in number than human cells. Contemporary scientific breakthroughs reveal that at least 100 trillion microbial cells from across the tree of life—bacteria, eukaryotes, and viruses that interact with one another and in and on our bodies—greatly impact our health and physiology. As researchers blaze through these new discoveries, we learn more about the microbes that keep us healthy. We are also begining to understand how subtle imbalances in our microbial populations can also trigger diseases and how restoring the balance may lead to cures.

Our new profound understanding can be a crucial mediator in the interactions between food and our body. It has become increasingly apparent that these microbes can change our mind and health status. They can switch on or lead to a wide range of diseases including acne, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, asthma/allergies, autism, autoimmune diseases, cancer, dental cavities, and depression and anxiety, as well as overweight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and cardio-metabolic diseases. Although the causes of these diseases are often only partially understood, it is becoming obvious that nutrients, metabolites, and microbes are increasingly key players, even where the complete disease mechanisms remain unclear.

I am not really surprised by the interest of the author on matters of health in nature, having being challenged by profound health issues on arrival in New York in 1998 for multilateral representation of his country. Consequently, he began to explore, review and evaluate extensive research studies on lifestyle and eating habits. In the process, he gained extraordinary insight not only on the nature of life but also on the enduring benefits of a healthy lifestyle. In practical terms, his relentless energy was evident while he worked with me during the Nigerian Presidency of the UN Security Council. Often, protracted negotiations often demanded from those involved physical, emotional, and mental energy. As he traveled around the world for international meetings, it became apparent to him that the vast majority of the world’s population, including in developed countries and more so in developing ones, is lacking in basic information that would have prevented and saved billions of people from devastating diseases and the associated burdens.

The world is in a staggering health crisis arising from, among other causes, the gap in basic information on changing life patterns and eating habits to reinforce better health and prevent diseases. The statistical data from the World Health Organization and worldwide information database is overwhelmingly potentially devastating. In 2016, about 1.9 billion adults, eighteen years and older, were overweight—out which, about 650 million were obese. It is a painful reflection that about 41 million children under the age of five were overweight or obese; above 340 million children and adolescents aged five to nineteen were overweight or obese. It is also being projected that, in 2030, the world population of obese children and adolescents will to grow to 254 million, an increase of more than 60 percent.

Often, children who are obese become obesity adults. These adults are more likely to develop serious health problems that could shorten their live span, including associated diseases, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It is further projected that, with the current trend, the absolute numbers for overweight will total 2.16 billion and 1.12 billion obese individuals in 2040. Yet, obesity is preventable and reversible. Overweight and obesity are vital clinical and public health burdens worldwide, especially in the developing countries that continue to adopt unhealthy eating patterns. Dealing with just one aspect of human life, the global cost of obesity has skyrocketed to $2 trillion annually, more than the collective costs of armed violence, war, and terrorism.

It is redemptive that this book has put together easy access to information on the root causes and remedies huaman diseases. Even more significantly, it provides an invaluable source and inspiration:

• Anyone faced with making choices about what to eat and drink

• Conscious consumers as an interesting reference guide

• Active people as an amazingly convincing tool to make family, friends, and colleagues aware of gratifying, groundbreaking advances, and motivation to use these advances to make personal choices for better health

• Government institutions, corporations, and organizations to improve health and reduce huge health expenditure on behalf of their workers

• Professionals in the fields of food, nutrition, health and as a must for education and awareness

In sum, this work is a valid contribution to the universal quest for quality of life in an increasingly perilous global world.

Professor U. Joy Ogwu

Former Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, former Minister of Foreignt Affairs, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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My utmost gratitude goes eternally to God Almighty, who bestows upon us the strength, good health, and courage to embark on a higher calling. As such we can access and provide a wealth of information based on new amazing research outcomes in order to achieve enhanced health. Even when it became quite daunting, I never wavered, knowing that I have His grace to get me through.

My family always means everything to me. Their unconditional love and support are immeasurable. My wife consistently has been on the forefront, along with my children, represents the primary source of strength. My younger brother, Paulinus Anaedu, is a towering pillar and strength, without whom not much could have been achieved. So also are Uju nwa, Uk, Chidinma, Ann, Jude, and Rose. I remain forever grateful to our late parents for giving us everything.

So many not only touched my life but also helped to set me up on a blazing trail that transformed my life in the last three decades as one of the foremost multilateral negotiator and UN administrator. As I begin to unpack in future much of the work I did in the UN, my appreciation for these extraordinary men and women will become even more manifest. Foremost worthy of mention is Ambassador Ejoh Abuah, a genius mastermind, from whom I learned all the fundamentals in global negotiations. Then, there is Chief Tom Ikimi, former Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, who trusted my capacity and intellect to excel in the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations and posted me to that mission. Professor Ambassador Ibrahim Agoola Gambari, present Chief of Staff to the President, who exposed me and my colleagues, in the Permanent Mission, New York, to greater knowledge and understanding of representation at the highest level of multilateral diplomacy, along with extraordinary personal things he did for me. Ambassador Joy Ogwu has been a pillar and guardian angel in my life and all through my work at the Permanent Mission, New York, and later at the United Nations Office in Geneva and then again at the Permanent Mission, New York, for Nigeria’s Presidency of the UN Security Council. There is no way I could even discuss my outstanding successes as the chief negotiator for Nigeria and indeed the Group of 77 and China (134 countries) during Nigeria’s Chairmanship of the Group without mentioning the pillar of that success, Ambassador Segun Apata. He provided me unflinching support in my work and protection against complaints from the representatives of big powers. Early on, l learned so much from Ambassador Willoughby, who showed me even though he is so humble to deny it that brilliance, hard work, and a classy personality could enmesh effortlessly. Oseloka Obaze epitomized the best young officer then to learn a great deal from, as I took over his desk and followed his masterful brilliance in the Liberation Committee as well his work at the Permission of Nigeria and the secretariat of the United Nations Headquarters.

I cannot appreciate enough the unreserved support of Dame (Ambassador) Nkem Wadibia-Anyanwu in my life before and after she became the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry. When I thought I had all the exposure to last me for a lifetime, I was deployed to work with the National Security Adviser to the President, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau. My time in that capacity turned out to be some of my glorious years in service. He empowered me without limit and indeed encouraged me to continue my work as a leading global negotiator, even while preparing powerful memos he took to Mr. President that impacted deeply on policy framework and implementation. Even when General Sarki Mukhtar took over as the National Security Adviser to the President, I was still given great access and had an extraordinary relationship that enabled me to continue to work at that high level. This extended to the time when I had departed for Geneva to continue my multilateral diplomatic journey at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland.

Who else but Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi could be the last piece of the puzzle? I worked with him on an amazing journey that led to the transformation of the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under his leadership as President. The WIPO Assembly and its Specialized Agency had been in protracted turmoil, acrimony and perpetual crisis. It was a great credit to the Nigerian team led by Ambassador Uhomoibi in finding peace that steered WIPO to smooth transition. A year into the leadership of WIPO, Ambassador Uhomoibi became the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, entrusting me to a huge chunk of responsibilities in organizing our work for both UN entities. It was hugely challenging and, to date, I often find myself wondering how we pulled off all those successes. The key certainly was the leadership of Ambassador Uhomoibhi and the unrelenting support he provided to my extraordinary assistant, Mr. Mohammed Haidara, and me as we worked tirelessly. The unwavering support of Ambassador Uhomoibhi continued even when the challenges were elevated, as I became the coordinator of the African Group to the Human Rights Council for the next two years, with Mr. Haidara assisting.

Even while rounding up our work as I was heading back to the Permanent Mission, New York, I will not fail to appreciate all the encouragements from Ambassador Orjiako, with whom I worked briefly on his arrival as the new Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Equally important was the encouragement I received over the years from Ambassador Hassan Adamu, Wakiri of Adamawa, Ambassador T. J. Hart, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador E. E. Onobu, Dr. Shafiu Adamu Yauri, Ferdinand Agu, Okay Ejidike, an experienced UN diplomat always supportive, Kenneth Ehouzou, seasoned UN diplomat, Ambassador Obinna C Onowu, Ezenwa C. Nwaobiala and my kindred brother, Ambassador Chika Ejinaka, as well as the late Ambassador Felix Awambor, Ambassador Chudi Okafor, and Ambassador Charles Onianwa, who at various stages stood tall and firm when I came under several attacks in the line of duty.

I appreciate tremendously the efforts of Ambassador Hassan M. Hassan, Patrick Yazid Gbemudu, a seasoned diplomat as well as Mr. Patrick Unogwu Attah, Ambassador Joeshp Umoru, and Ugochukwu Anasobi in going through this work and standing as a sounding board on how to improve it further.

INTRODUCTION

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The world is facing epic proportion of many chronic diseases and risks, which overlap and are mutually reinforcing. It is a vicious cycle without an end in sight. According to the World Health Organization and numerous global institutions with huge databases, we are facing a worldwide epidemic of obesity; a key risk factor associated with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. It has further linkages to various types of cancer. Already about 1.9 billion adults worldwide are overweight, out of which more than 300 million are obese. This preventable condition triggers cardiovascular diseases including heart attacks, strokes and other disorders that kill about 17.9 million people annually, about 7.2 million due to ischemic heart disease and 5.5 million to cerebrovascular disease. Additionally, 3.9 million people die annually from hypertension and other heart conditions. It is a roller coaster that starts with just one risk condition. Thus, about 75 percent of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) can be attributed to any of the majority risk factors, such as overweight, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, low fruit and vegetable intake, inactive lifestyle, and tobacco use. In just one case scenario, about 177 million people affected by type two diabetes and around 4 million die yearly due to its complications.

With continuation of this trend, it is projected that, by 2030, the world population of obese children and adolescents will grow to 254 million, an increase of more than 60 percent. Predictably, children who are obese often become adults with obesity, a condition that will most likely lead to serious health problems that will shorten their lives, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The absolute numbers will hit 2.16 billion overweight and 1.12 billion obese individuals in 2040. This has made the problem of overweight and obesity a major challenge and burden to direct public health and indirect individual personal expenditures worldwide, as more countries continue to adopt westernized products filled with added sugar, as well as westernized lifestyles. The consequences are far-reaching. In just one condition, diabetes, the global cost has surged up to $2 trillion annually, by far outstripping the combined costs of armed violence, war, and terrorism.

The upwelling of chronic diseases reflects a significant change in lifestyle, eating habits, physical activity levels, and tobacco use worldwide. It has become part of a complex world economy, striking through agricultural revolution, industrialization, and urbanization, a globalized world economy, and increasingly global food marketing. As the world witnesses extraordinary economic development, its pace swiftened by information technology and scientific breakthrough, people are also progressively consuming more nutrient-deficient and energy-dense foods, including processed foods that are high in sugar, saturated fats, and excess salt—leading to a monstrous rise of noncommunicable diseases, disability, and death that is bound into an unending vicious cycle.

How? Arriving in New York in February 1998 to start multilateral representation of Nigeria at the United Nations headquarters in New York, I was immediately challenged with an inexplicable illness that led me to extensive tests in one of the major hospitals in New York. After three weeks, the result of my laboratory test gave me a clean bill of health. However, I could hardly move my legs, with debilitating pains all over. Although the doctor was very reluctant, I pleaded for any medicine that would help me to ease the pain. I was given antibiotics but warned to use it sparingly.

Fast-forward six months, as I continued my work at gruelingly rapid pace, I was surprised by a sudden increase in my total body weight and waistline. At this stage, I was easily picking and unpacking appetizing yummy takeout foods and drinks from fast food burger outlets and restaurants. But, I did not immediately connect the two or imagine my food choices would have had such immediate devastating impact on me. Two years later, I had bloated to a size 40 plus waistline and 227 pounds total body weight, as opposed to the size 32 and 169 pounds; respectively I’d been when I’d arrived.

With my workload increasing—leading developing 134 countries in negotiations (G77 and China); traveling all over world; and covering more than five multilateral processes, from Asia to Africa and Europe to the Americas—my weight kept increasing and my blood pressure skyrocketed. I was placed on blood pressure medication and, soon enough, cholesterol drugs. Without access to the data and research available today, I was compelled to dive headlong into research-centered books to save my life, particularly as I noticed that my drugs were increased in strength intermittently to cope with increases in blood pressure.

Stunningly, the more research I accessed and analyzed, the more I came to see the surprising reality that no drug can cure blood pressure, diabetes, blood pressure, or heart and other associated diseases. While the drugs can truly and extraordinarily help to sustain and manage these diseases to a healthy state, you must tackle the underlying root causes in order to have a chance of reversing and healing your body—just like the father of medicine, Hippocrates, did more than three thousand years ago.

What became even more instructive from the research studies is that healthy eating habit and lifesty simply require you to get into line with whole natural foods rich in fiber and probiotics enjoyed by our great medieval grandparents. Extraordinary outcomes from numerous research studies based on human trials have shown proven major health benefits through eating more natural, fiber-centered foods, including fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and whole grains; increasing daily physical activities; moving away from saturated animal fats to monounsaturated oil-based fats and omega-3s; cutting the amount of fatty, salty, and sugary foods in diet; and maintaining a normal body weight.

Today, new and amazing emerging research and discoveries are giving incredible insight that our human bodies do not entirely belong to us. Coexisting along with us are our microbiomes—the collective genomes of the microorganisms (bacteria, virus, fungi, and protozoa) that live in and on the human body. The community of microorganisms, that is microbiata, is located in the gut and on the skin; in the mouth, including in saliva and on teeth, gums, and tongue; and in armpits, belly buttons, noses, hands, ears, and bottoms. Approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, most of them bacteria, exist in the human gastrointestinal tract, compelling apparent recognition as a virtual organ of the body. While the human genome consists of only about 23,000 genes, the microbiome encodes over 3 million genes, producing thousands of metabolites that supplant many of the roles of the human body, thereby affecting our fitness, phenotype, and health.

The microbes, as in any organ of the body, have composition and systemic pattern, and their individual and collective health might be damaged when their collective population structures are altered. Studies are showing that, like all healthy ecosystems, diverse richness of the gastrointestinal microbes epitomizes a healthy individual. Equally, a loss in microbe diversity is a common feature in several disease states. Several factors, such as the foods—most especially with higher level of fiber and probiotics as well as physiology—influence the composition and function of the gut microbiome. This, in turn, affects human nutrition, health, and behavior through interactions with metabolism, the immune system, and the brain.

The human microbiome, which coevolved with humankind over millions of years, has profound and far-reaching effects on the human body—from overweight and obesity to diabetes and from heart diseases and stroke to physical, emotional, and mental well-being. What happens on the tongue and in saliva has a direct impact on the states of the gut and the brain. The gut microbes are vital to numerous aspects of human health, including immune system, as well as metabolic and neurobehavioral peculiarities.

Studies indicate that the microbes are impacted by what we eat through the process of the fermentation of nondigestible substrates like dietary fibers and endogenous intestinal mucus. This process of fermentation supports the growth of specialist microbes, which produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and gases, resulting in acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Butyrate is the major energy source for the cells of the colon and walls of the intestine, which can also induce apoptosis of colon cancer cells. The part of short-chain fatty acids, propionate, is transferred to the liver, in order to regulate gluconeogenesis and satiety, signaled through interaction with the gut fatty acid receptors. Likewise, acetate, the most abundant of the short-chain fatty acids and an essential metabolite for the growth of other bacteria, reaches the peripheral tissues, where it is used in cholesterol metabolism and lipogenesis and may possibly assist in appetite regulation.

We can practically change the dynamics of our health and reverse the course of any diseases that attack our bodies by positively choosing a better lifestyle and changing our eating habits to include foods that enhance the good bacteria in and on our bodies. It has been established that the gut bacteria can play an effective role in the development and progression of overweight and obesity. Most studies of overweight and obese people show imbalance characterized by lower bacteria diversity. Lower bacterial diversity has been observed in people with inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis, type 1 diabetes, atopic eczema, coeliac disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and arterial stiffness, as compared to healthy people in controlled trials. Invariably, therefore, the linkage between reduced diversity and diseases indicate that a species-rich gut ecosystem is more robust against stress, inflammation, and chronic diseases that could damage the dynamics of your body health. A proven combination of exercise, distress-relieving methods, and building a culture of united family relationships and friendships to create a balanced living environment supports emotional needs and physiological stability.

You have so many options when it comes to a route toward great health. You can simply tune into your DNA—following the path of traditional cultures, including Blue Zone as well as Uzuanunu communities. This would mean focusing on whole, natural foods, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, certain beans, fish, and fermented foods that will enable you to live into healthy longevity. Some famous athletes who eat natural foods for great health and extraordinary fitness have extended their healthy athletic longevity. In addition, you can develop a template, out of your own eating experience and exercise and other things that have helped you to scale up your immune system, boost your energy cycle, and enable sustainable health. The key is to take action. Certainly, changes—and really powerful and positive changes—will begin to manifest truly beyond boundaries you did not even imagine you could ever reach.

Yes, I did. Fast-forward from 2000 when I had those challenges in New York to the date of this writing; my body weight, after I adapted to a better lifestyle, eating habits and exercise culture, has progressively reduced and settled at an average weight of 168 bounds, plus or minus. What’s so amazing at this age today, I feel incredibly stronger and sustainably more energetic than I did when I was twenty to thirty-five years of age. My body had, over time, no need for blood pressure and cholesterol drugs any more. This happened years before I underwent a recorded, thoroughly detailed full medical exam at the United Nation Offices’ Geneva medical center on demand of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva in late 2018. I had virtually outstanding results in the comprehensive laboratory outcomes.

CHAPTER 1

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Your Microbiome Is a Healing

Force of Nature

What is the microbiome?

With incredible new discoveries, so much insight is being gained on the makeup of the human body. Of particular interest is the growing realization that the human body is inhabited by at least ten times more bacteria than human cells, and that the overwhelming number of those bacteria are found in the human gastrointestinal tract (Savage.1977). Yet throughout the history of microbiology, most human studies have focused on the disease-causing organisms found on or in people, without much attention to the resident bacteria and their benefits. In effect, the bacterial flora and other forms of life on and in the human body are poorly understood (Relman et al.2001; Relman.2002).

Microbes are located throughout the human body, both on the external and internal surfaces, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, saliva, oral mucosa, ears, belly button, and conjunctiva. These microbes include bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. In a healthy person, these microbes naturally coexist peacefully. The largest microbes are found in the large intestines. Bacteria overwhelmingly outnumber all other microbes two to three times over. The vast majority of the bacteria inhabit the colon, followed by the skin.

Humans are mostly made up of microbes, with over 100 trillion microbes living on and inside a person’s body, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses (Hair et al.2014). The predominant numbers live in our gut, especially in the large intestine. The microbiome embody the genetic material of all the microbes, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa living on and in our body. The total amount of genes in all the microbes in an individual’s microbiome is about two hundred times the totality of genes in the human genome and weighs just about five pounds (Hair et al.2014). The bacteria in the gut help digest food; regulate the immune system; safeguard against harmful, disease-causing bacteria; and process vitamins, including B, B12, thiamine, and riboflavin, as well as vitamin K, which is needed to prevent blood clots (Hair et al.2014)

A new study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM 2017) on the trillions of human microbial organisms that live on and within our bodies has discovered millions of previously unknown genes from microbial communities within the human gut, skin, mouth, and vagina, generating new insights into the role these microbes play in human health and diseases. The researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSM), the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, as well as the University of California San Diego have embarked on largescale research that increased the volume of data previously available. Notably, this is the largest human microbiome study ever. The outcome of this study was published on September 29, 2017, in the journal Nature (Lloyd-Price et al. 2017).

This study is a component of the National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project, launched in 2008 to ascertain and differentiate human microbes, investigate microbes’ relationship to health and disease, and develop computational tools to analyze the microbes. The microbiome has been associated with various aspects of human health, including the health of our immune systems and our exposure to chronic illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and cancer.

The new UMSOM study (Lloyd-Price et al. 2017) evaluated an additional 1,635 new metagenomes, a total of 2,355 sampled from 265 people over time. The scientists used DNA sequence analysis tools to detect which organisms were present in various body sites, determine whether they mutated or remained relatively stable over time, and explore their functions. This study also offers one of the largest profiles of viruses and fungi. Furthermore, it unraveled some of the biochemical activity that allows microbes to play a role in human health. Although the new study reveals a great deal about the microbiome, so much more remains unknown.

CHAPTER 2

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The Impact of the Microbiome

on Human Health

Human health is intricately tied to the microbiomes that live in and on the human body in myriads of ways:

• The microbiome is fundamental for human growth, immunity, and nutrition. The human body encompasses more than 1 trillion microbes, predorminantly in the gastrointestinal tract with a diverse array of commensal microbes that contribute to host nutrition, growth and regulation of intestinal angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels involving the migration, growth, and differentiation of endothelial cells that line the inside wall of blood vessels), protection from pathogens, and development of the immune response. Recent discoveries in genome sequencing technologies and metagenomic analysis are giving greater appreciation and knowledge of these resident microbes and their effect on the differences between healthy and disease states.

• Most of the bacteria living in and on us are beneficial colonizers and not really invaders, even though they evolved differently. As humankind evolved over the past million years, so did our resident microbes, adapting massively to different conditions on our skin and in our mouths, noses, genitalia, and guts and diverging into new species as they colonized one area of the body after another.

• Microbes have a major impact on autoimmune diseases like obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertention/blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis fibromyalgia and other dieases.

• Disease-causing microbes amass rapidly over a short period of time, altering gene activity and metabolic processes. Because these microbes can reproduce so quickly, microorganisms can assemble in enormous numbers with great variety in their communities. If their environment suddenly changes, the community’s genetic variations make it more likely that some will survive. This gives microbes a huge advantage over humans when it comes to adapting for survival.

• You are more likely to inherit autoimmune diseases through your family’s microbiome than your shared DNA inheritance.

Your Microbiome Fundamentally

Influences Your Health

Your microbiome has a wide-ranging impact on your overall health. Bacteria that become pathogens are harmful as they increase in number against good bacteria. The benefits of good bacteria include:

• Helping break down the sugars in human breast milk. Human milk is fundamental for proper development of newborns. It is a source of not only vitamins and nutrients but also of commensal bacteria. The microbes associated with human breast milk provide the initial intestinal microbiota of infants and are essential in regulating and shaping the newborn’s immune system. Bacteria found in both colostrum and mature milk can fuel the anti-inflammatory response, decreasing the risk of developing a broad range of inflammatory diseases and preventing immune-mediated pathologies like asthma and eczema (Toscano et al. 2017).

• Programming the immune system. Microbes that inhabit our body surfaces such as the skin, gut, and mucous membranes contain about ten times more bacterial cells than we do human cells. There are at least 10 trillion microbes in the gut alone, comprised of more than a thousand species, which essentially prevent the gut from being colonized by disease-causing bacteria and viruses. The microbes help synthesize vitamins, break down food into absorbable nutrients, and energize our immune systems (Drexler 2010). They also assist in programming the immune system and delivering nutrients for our cells.

• Maintaining the health of newborns. The human microbiome is vital in maintaining health, but it can also induce or aggravate risk factors for maternal/child health. Although the development of the microbiome begins in utero, the labor and birth environment have been shown to have a direct impact on the initial colonization process of the newborn’s microbiome. This transmission of microbes from the mother to the newborn serves as an early inoculation process, with implications for the long-term health of the child.

Studies have indicated differences in the microbiomes of newborns delivered through the vaginal canal, where the baby acquires the mother’s microbiome and strong immune system and babies born by caesarean section. The latter aren’t equipped with the mother’s microbiome and are more likely to develop higher-risk conditions such as asthma and type 1 diabetes.

Antibiotics have also been shown to alter the microbial profiles of women and may influence the gut microbial profiles of their newborns. Because the first major microbial colonization occurs at birth, it is essential that priority be given to the process of labor and birth. The implications are that these activities unique to the labor and birth environment may influence the microbes of newborns, especially female children during the labor and birth process through the route of birth, antibiotic use, and nursing procedures (Dunn et al. 2017).

• Metabolizing nutrients. Every person has a unique gut microbiota that assists in host-nutrient metabolism, maintains mucosal barriers formed by intestinal epithelial cells that sustain gut homeostasis by separating the gut microbiota and the host, regulates the immune system, and protects against pathogens. Each human’s gut microbiota is shaped in early life by the process of delivery and birth (birth gestational date, type of delivery, methods of milk feeding, and weaning period) and external factors such as antibiotic use (Rinninella et al. 2019).

Gut mucosal barriers constructed by intestinal epithelial cells maintain gut homeostasis by separating gut microbiota and host immune.

These personalized, native microbiota remain quite stable in adulthood. They began to differ between individuals as a result of body mass index (BMI), exercise frequency, lifestyle, and cultural as well as dietary habits. Hence, there is not a universally optimal gut microbiota composition, since each individual is different. It is, therefore, essential that a healthy host-microorganism balance be in place in order to optimally perform metabolic and immune functions and prevent disease development. The gut microbiome changes quickly over the first two years of a child’s life, shaped by microbes in breast milk, the environment of the child’s development, and other factors. It stabilizes by the time the child is about three years of age. The environment, foods, stress, and drugs such as antibiotics will continue to change the role and impact of the microbiome throughout the individual’s life (Rinninella et al. 2019).

• Shaping the environment of human development. Human cells contain chromosomes and carry DNA within our mitochondria, the cellular powerhouses, which are evolutionary descendants of bacteria. The first bacteria probably developed more than 3 billion years ago and dominated the environment continually thereafter, affecting the environment in which animals would eventually evolve more than 2 billion years later (Narbonne 2005). Because animals evolved in seas filled with bacteria, it is possible that they have lived in close association with bacteria throughout their evolutionary history; it is probable that diverse interactions with bacteria (including predation on bacteria, harboring bacterial commensals, and infection with bacterial pathogens) shaped animal origins (Alegado et al. 2014). It is evident that our genome also contains stretches of genetic material that seem to have been introduced long ago by viruses.

• Improving human life. The skin, vagina, and gut have very different, unique, and distinct communities of microbes. Although gut microbes have gained a lot of notice, microbes elsewhere are also significant. Recent research discoveries have found that bacteria commonly found on the skin might help protect us against skin cancer. Most bacteria are beneficial and do not cause disease. They are known to positively impact many environments, including the human body (Grice et al. 2011). They coexist with the human host while performing numerous significant functions.

The bacteria in our bodies help to break down the food we eat, make nutrients available to us, and neutralize toxins (Bäckhed et al. 2005; Hooper et al. 2002). Furthermore, the microbiota performs vital function in the defense against infections from spreading pathogens. Studies have shown that there is increasing kingdom of powerful but invisible microbes in the human body and their genomes (DNA). It is becoming apparent that these microbes are crucial not only for human health, but also in preventing diseases. These myriads of species and trillions of inhabitants that live in all parts of the body make up the diverse human microbiome. These microbiomes help to sustain and maintain human health. However, the microbiome have been associated to hundreds of disorders like cancers, and autoimmune as well as cardiovascular diseases one is distressed in some way.

Some of the conditions for which the composition of the microbiota has been shown to play an important role include inflammatory bowel disease, gastric ulcers, colonic cancer, and obesity (Bonfrate et al. 2013; Cho et al. 2012). Gut microbiota can impact a host’s response to chemotherapy through numerous means that include interactions, xenometabolism, and altered community structure (Alexander et al. 2017). Collaboration with the immune system occurs both outside and within lymphoid organs following chemotherapy (Erdman et al. 2017; Iida et al. 2013; Viaud et al. 2013). The microbiota may also directly metabolize chemotherapeutic medication and produce toxic secondary metabolites.

They also indirectly affect host-chemotherapeutic metabolism through alteration of the host microenvironment (Scott et al. 2017). As the gut microbiota grows in synergy with the host, its composition and functionality are highly individualized (Claesson et al. 2011). The community structure of gut microbiota in the course of anticancer treatment is affected by multiple factors, such as host environment and diet; surgical intervention; use of medication, such as antibiotics; and the effect of the chemotherapy administered. Usually, many of these issues generate dysbiosis, a distress of the microbial community, which unsettles the symbiotic relationship with the host. Inevitably, analysis and manipulation of gut microbiota may, therefore, become a vital component for progress to personalize an effective anticancer therapy (Erdman et al. 2017).

• Effecting mental and physical health. The human gut microbiome can affect mental and physical health through different pathways including the brain-gut-microbiome axis (BGMA) (Carabotti et al. 2015), intestinal activity (Roager et al. 2016), and the competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria (Ley et al. 2006). BGMA signaling in particular has been found to be bidirectional, in that not only can gut bacteria influence health and behavior, but psychological states can also be influenced through the altering of gut health. Disruptions of the BGMA are related with gastrointestinal disorders (Mayer et al. 2015), depression and mental quality of life (Valles-Colomer et al. 2019), Parkinson’s disease (Mulak et al. 2015), increased anxiety (Foster et al, 2013.), and also by decreasing cognitive abilities (Galland et al. 2014). Although the interface mechanisms between the gut microbiome and human body have yet to be fully understood, previous work has tended to indicate that bacteria can influence neural (Zhu et al. 2017), hormonal (Cani et al. 2016), and immune responses (Belkaid et al. 2014), as well as permeability of the gut (Bischoff et al.) and, therefore, blood-brain barrier (Hartz et al. 2012). Hence, the functioning of the BGMA in regulating human health and behavior is vital in understanding how it affects mental and physical health.

Many bacterial metabolites have been identified as possible mechanisms through which bacteria communicate through the BGMA with their hosts. Among these are metabolites that interact with the immune system (Levy et al. 2017)—short chain fatty acids (SCFA), for example, butyrate and acetate, produced by fermenting bacteria that suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines and interrelate with regulatory T cells to mitigate colitis (Smith et al. 2012).

• Influencing vaginal microbiota on drug release. The vaginal cavity is a crucial factor of the female reproductive system. It covers from the cervix and uterus to the external genitalia (vulva) (Leyva-Gómez et al. 2018). Presently, vaginal drug delivery is usually used for varied purposes, including the treatment of neoplastic lesions and local infections and for contraceptive purposes (Leyva-Gómez et al. 2019). The vaginal area, due to its diverse attributes, is generally considered for the administration of drugs with local activity. It is also an attractive site for the delivery of compounds when a systemic effect is desired (Dobaria et al. 2007). First, the vagina is an organ with high vascularity, possessing a dense network of blood vessels, arteries, and lymphatic vessels. Furthermore, drugs delivered through the vagina can be absorbed without going through pass gastrointestinal degradation or the hepatic first-pass effect. Drugs, therefore, with the capacity to cross the vaginal mucosa could reach the bloodstream with high concentration, thereby improving the efficacy of medication compared with the same drug administered by oral route.

The vagina has high contact surface exposure. As such, it embodies an attractive alternative for drug transmission to achieve local and systemic effects to facilitate the absorption of drugs into the bloodstream. However, by its own nature, the vaginal cavity is an organ with a highly variable microenvironment. Involuntary changes such as, chemical changes such as pH (alkalinity), and viscosity can alter the release of drugs. Moreover, variations in vaginal microbiota can potentially influence the whole vaginal microenvironment, thus determining the disposition of drugs within the vaginal cavity and decreasing their therapeutic value (Leyva-Gómez et al. 2019).

• Impacting obesity. Gut microbiota has captured our attention in the last decade as a component that directly affects our health or disease status (Castaner et al, 2018). Particularly, it has been implicated within the development of obesity (Baothman et al.). In fact, the composition of gut microbiota seems to play a dynamic role in obesity. Gut microbiota is an assortment of microorganisms that inhabit the digestive tract. The composition of this microbial community depends on the host, but it can also be modified by exogenous and endogenous events (Sekirov et al. 2010). With reference to the host, these bacteria are symbiotic, and play a crucial role in physiological processes, for instance, in digestion or intervention within the metabolism process, as they will increase energy production from food, as well as take part in the regulation of the fatty acid tissue composition (Cani et al. 2012). The various bacteria can also induce low-grade inflammation. These processes are also involved in obesity and metabolic disorders.

With the introduction of human whole metagenome studies, the associations of microbiota and disease were plausible. And quite a lot have been encountered. It has been indicated that human microbiota consist of five phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia (Qin et al. 2010). Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes constitute around 90 percent of the entire bacterial species (Qin et al. 2010; Tang et al. 2017). The composition of the bacterial diversity seems to vary between lean and obese, increasing the amount of Firmicutes to the detriment of Bacteroidetes (Qin et al. 2010; Ley et al. 2010; Karlsson et al. 2013) in obese individuals and also in type 2 diabetes, which is pathologically in close relationship to obesity. But some recent studies have found controversial results (Qin et al. 2010; Murphy et al. 2010), such as the association between microbiota profiles and different phenotypes or body mass index that offered the positive and negative associations among the different phyla that populate the intestines.

• Impacting mood. There are several ways through which microbes impact our mood. Intestinal microbiota is taken into account in relation to the neuro-endocrine-immune pathways, generating the concept of the gut-brain axis. The primary evidence of the gut-brain axis came from a piece of work by a military surgeon through monitoring gastric juices secreted by intragastric fistula. He found that intestinal function was related with mood (Mangiola et al. 2016). About 60 percent of anxiety, hysteria, and depression patients are described to possess intestinal disorder, like in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Recently, IBS has also been linked to alterations in intestinal microbiota, including reduced microbiota species and genus potent instability. Acute stress is related to cortisone release, a biological response to a sudden stressor, while chronic stress is related to emotional pressure suffered over a period of time, which the individual seems to have no control over. A study suggests that acute stress can be connected with a potent adaptive immune response (inhibition of the intracellular pathogen and preservation of the extracellular pathogen immune system), and chronic stress is the maladjustment of these two kinds of immune responses (Allen et al.). Essentially, these two kinds of stresses have different impacts on intestinal microbiota. The effect of acute stress is restricted as a result of prolonged relative stability of microbiota, but chronic stress can disturb this sort of balance (Allen et al. 2017).

CHAPTER 3

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Fiber Generating Microbes:

How To Keep Your Gut

Bacteria In Amazing Shape

Yes, you’ve done everything, following your prescriptions religiously, and yet nothing seems to be getting better or relieved. Drugs may not be the answer. Rather, it might be changing your lifestyle and eating prebiotics and probiotics from natural foods. The former are substances such as fiber inulin, on which useful microbes can thrive, while the latter are microbes themselves that are beneficial for health, like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

We’ve begun to learn that almost everything we eat, from probiotic yogurt to a serving of vegetables to fatty beef or chicken, has an effect on the microbes that live in our bodies. This, in turn, has a rapid effect on our health. Just one meal can change your microbiome composition within twenty-four hours. It’s also becoming clear that these microbes, in turn, play major roles in translating our diet to health outcomes, whether good or bad. What’s important is to understand the nature of microbiome and the difference between those microbes that live permanently in the human gut and those that are just transiting. Our focus should always be on permanent microbes and what’s needed for their upkeep. Essentially, that’s fiber. Fiber is the most powerful fuel for the microbes that resides permanently in us. These microbes are acquired at birth, throughout infancy, and in early childhood. And more are picked up along the line later in life.

Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes are predominant bacteria in our guts, which jointly constitute about 80 percept of our body microbe. Within the gut, these microbes are very dynamic, with most individual microbes having short lifespans. You can actually wake up with entirely new generations of them each morning depending on what you eat or drink. A lot of changes happen in the generations of microbes, especially if they’re impacted by the environment, such as an increase in alkalinity (pH) or a drop in acidity, an introduction of a new food, a lack of preferred fiber, or an ingestion of antibiotics (Rinninella et al. 2019).

FIBER IS THE MOST POWERFUL FUEL FOR

YOUR MICROBES & GUT HEALTH

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The amount of soluble and insoluble fiber varies significantly in different plant foods. Eating a wide variety of high-fiber foods is greatly beneficial to health. Not only does it feed your gut bacteria, fermentable fiber has lasting effects by also forming short-chain fatty acids, which nourish the colon wall. In addition, viscous, soluble fiber may reduce your appetite, lower cholesterol levels, and decrease the rise in blood sugar after high-carb meals.

Fiber has wide-ranging effects, from insulin resistance to overweight and obesity to health disease, heart attack, stroke, and more. Overall, studies indicate that fiber has significant impact on weight loss. Also, it has a beneficial effect on the primary pathophysiological routes involved in cardiovascular risk, as well as insulin resistance and sympathetic nervous systems. Although this has not been fully established, this implies fiber would be an appropriate option to counteract obesity-related cardiovascular and metabolic diseases independently of weight loss (Lutgarda Bozzetto et al. 2018).

Super Generation of Microbes

Fueled by High-Fiber Foods

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Legumes

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Oats

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Lentil

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Chickpeas

The gastrointestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in human health. And there is increasing interest in utilizing dietary approaches to regulate the composition and metabolic function of the microbial communities that colonize the alimentary canal (the whole passage along which food passes through the body from mouth to anus during digestion) to improve health and block or treat disease. One dietary approach for increasing the microbiota is intake of dietary fiber and prebiotics, which will be metabolized by microbes in the alimentary canal to produce butyrate. Human enzymes are unable to digest most complex carbohydrates. They are processed by microbes in the colon, which transform them into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including butyrate, propionate, and acetate (Holscher.2017).

High-fiber foods:

• Lower LDL cholesterol levels. By forming short-chain fatty acids, soluble fiber has a broad influence on health and also on cholesterol (Holscher.2017). Dietary fiber and whole grains contain a singular mix of bioactive elements, comprising resistant starches, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. As a result, analysis relating to their potential health benefits has received great consideration over the years. Studies have revealed that intake of dietary fiber and whole grain is inversely associated to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Typically, dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants that are unaffected by digestion and absorption in the small intestine (Lattimer et al. 2010). This is often found in foods, such as beans, oats, flaxseeds, and oats. These foods may help to lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL Cholesterol). Furthermore, studies have shown that high-fiber foods provide other great health benefits, including but not limited to reducing blood pressure and inflammation.

• Help to normalize bowel movements. Constipation may be a daunting health problem that influences almost 20 percent of the world’s population (Higgins et al. 2014). It is a scary disorder, which will adversely affect a person’s quality of life and increase his or her chances of colon cancer (Watanabe et al. 2014). A wide range of treatment methods is used. Lifestyle modification, increasing fluid intake, and exercising are usually recommended as first-line treatment. But data on the success of these measures is limited (Johanson et al. 2007). Laxatives are most often ordinarily used for treatment of constipation, but frequent use of those drugs may cause to some adverse effects (Xing et al. 2001). Therefore, alternative natural treatment measures based on natural whole foods containing fibers (both soluble and insoluble) and probiotics are highly needed.

Since no fiber is digested by the small intestine, fiber in any food will go straight to the large intestine and separate into insoluble and soluble fiber, as the two are processed differently. Although insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and isn’t browned down or fermented by the colon bacteria, it does retain lots of water in the colon and, so, provides a larger, softer, and more bulking effect on stool. Soluble fiber, on the other hand, absorbs water and is broken down to become a jellylike, sticky substance that has been broken down and fermented by colon bacteria to produce acetate, propionate, and butyrate, the latter being a powerful fuel for the cells of the intestine (Anderson et al.). New research findings have validated earlier studies that dietary fiber has considerable benefits to health, including increase in stool frequency and stool consistency without observable adverse effects. Two studies signified that dietary fiber is as effective as lactulose treatment with practically fewer side effects. Contrarily, another study did not find evidence that dietary fiber is more effective than placebo in a healing process and might increase the frequency of abdominal pain (Yang et al. 2010). This notwithstanding, dietary fiber should the first line of defense as part of normal eating habits until proven otherwise.

• Improve bowel health. Dietary fibers (DFs) are an immense range of multifaceted saccharide-based molecules, which will bind potential nutrients and nutrient originators to stop their absorption. Some DFs are fermentable in the alimentary canal, resulting in the activation of varied bioactive elements, like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which significantly amplify the canal biomass and alter the structure of its tract flora. By control of food intake, digestion, absorption, and metabolism, dietary fibers can potentially reduce the risks of hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperglycemia.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics declared that the adequate intake of fiber is 14 grams per 1,000 kilocalories (kcal) or, for daily consumption, 25 grams for adult women and 38 grams for adult men, which is significantly different (Dahl et al. 2015). Generally, the daily fiber intake seems to change around the world from region to region. The mean intake of dietary fiber in the United States is 17 grams per day, with only 5 percent of the overall population meeting the adequate intake (Dahl et al. 2015). While the intake is increasing in the developed world, it’s on a massive surge in developing countries, which are increasingly eating diets that are a lot more westernized. A high proportion is comprised of junk and foods that are highly processed, with added sugars and chemicals. Even if the health benefits of dietary fibers have long been appreciated, especially for their effect on cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, glycemic control, and gastrointestinal conditions, these data underline that dietary habits in Western countries may be far from the recommended adequate intake. Now, most developing countries are approaching the level of overweight and obesity crisis and associated diseases previously associated mainly with developed countries. And this is the case even though the health benefits of dietary fibers have long been appreciated, especially for fibers’ effect on cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, glycemic control, and gastrointestinal conditions. These alarming data underline that dietary habits in terms of fiber in both developed and developing countries are far from the recommended adequate intake.

Several epidemiological investigations have evaluated the relationship between dietary fiber intake and inflammatory bowel diseases, but the results have been inconclusive. While a number of studies pointed to the fact that high intake of fiber can create bowel pain, discomfort and certain diseases, the overall combined relative risks with the fixed- or random-effects model found that dietary fiber intake could decrease the risk of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (CD). A linear dose-response relationship was found between dietary fiber and CD risk, which indicated that the risk of CD decreased by 13 percent for every 10 grams daily increment in fiber intake.

It is noted in many other studies that the gut microbiota, indeed, shifts speedily in response to dietary changes, particularly with fiber intake (David et al. 2014). For this reason, high-fiber intake represents a promising treatment option in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is generally used to portray two conditions—ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. During this condition, a high-fiber diet based on fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains, although desirable, may be difficult to achieve, requiring support of adequate dietary counseling and, in a subset of patients, the utilization of supplemental fibers. The beneficial effect on potential microbiota changes achieved with dietary fibers, supported by different amounts of soluble and insoluble fibers or the supplementation from natural fibers such as psyllium, could make a significant impact, with due consideration for how it impacts each individual.

• Stabilize blood sugar levels. Dietary fiber, in particular soluble fiber, slows the absorption of sugar, which immediately assists in improving blood sugar levels. Healthy foods that include insoluble fiber may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the first place. Dietary recommendations for the treatment of diabetics issued by national and international diabetes associations consistently emphasize the need to increase carbohydrate consumption. However, these recommendations have been questioned on the basis of growing evidence that, in both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients, a high-carbohydrate diet does not offer any advantage in terms of blood glucose and plasma lipid concentrations, compared with a high-fat (mainly unsaturated) diet. Indeed, high-carbohydrate foods may increase plasma insulin and triglyceride levels, which can worsen blood sugar control in the postprandial period. Nevertheless, much of the controversies on dietary carbohydrate are often settled by taking into consideration dietary fiber (Riccardi et al. 1991).

Studies have shown that high-carbohydrate foods are neutralized when fiber and carbohydrate are increased simultaneously within the foods. Especially, these studies demonstrated that high-carbohydrate, high-fiber foods significantly improve blood sugar control and reduce plasma cholesterol levels in diabetic patients, compared with low-carbohydrate, low-fiber foods. Additionally, high-carbohydrate, high-fiber foods don’t increase plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations, despite the higher consumption of carbohydrates. It’s indicative that water-soluble fiber is merely active on plasma glucose and lipoprotein metabolism. Therefore, in practice, the consumption of legumes, vegetables, and fruits, rich in water-soluble fiber, should be very beneficial. (Riccardi et al. 1991).

The ability of dietary fiber to delay the pace of food digestion and, thus, increase nutrient absorption before the food is gradually processed certainly has a crucial influence on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. The valuable outcome of high-fiber foods is also applied to some foods not particularly rich in fiber. Identifying these foods with a low-glycemic response is particularly suitable for enlarging the list of foods for diabetic patients. Lastly, foods low in cholesterol and saturated fat should be recommended to all diabetics to help them avoid cardiovascular disease. A balanced increase in fiber-rich foods and unsaturated fat is the most realistic method to replace foods rich in saturated fat and cholesterol for a diabetic (Riccardi et al. 1991).

• Impact weight loss and maintain healthy weight. High-fiber foods tend to be more filling. Feeling full and satisfied for a prolonged period leads to eating a lot less, particularly junk foods, fast foods, and processes foods with added sugars and salts. The burden of chronic disease in many countries is increasingly connected with the growing percentage of the population with distressingly high body mass index (BMI). Providing means to improve the natural quality and healthiness of the food environment and supporting people to make healthy food choices are important steps in the prevention of excessive weight gain and obesity (Swinburn et al. 2015).

Dietary pattern evidence has shown that higher food quality—that is, eating mainly whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, seafood, plant protein and low-fat dairy—results in marked reductions in all causes of cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality (Liese et al. 2015; Reedy et al. 2014). Likewise, a healthy food pattern, which incorporates eating fruits, vegetables, and grains, combined with a lower intake of sweets, red meat, and processed meat, lowers the danger of developing colorectal cancer (Tayyem et al.2016). There is supporting evidence backing the role of dietary fiber in improving metabolic health. Eating higher levels of fiber is