Why we should all try to eat like people in rural Papua New Guinea

Western diets—high in processed foods and low in fiber—are associated with obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. These diets not only harm our bodies but also our gut microbiomes, the complex community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses found in our intestinal tract that are crucial for our health.

Scientists, including myself and my colleagues, are actively researching ways to promote healthy microbiomes to prevent chronic diseases. My exploration has led me to Papua New Guinea.

I have always been intrigued by this country, with its remote valleys virtually untouched by modern civilization until 1930, over 800 languages spoken, an ancient form of sustenance agriculture, and entire communities living a non-industrialized lifestyle. This fascination sparked a captivating nine-year research project involving researchers from eight countries, culminating in a paper published in the scientific journal Cell.

In previous research, my team examined the gut microbiomes of rural Papua New Guineans. We discovered microbiomes that are more diverse than their Westernized counterparts, enriched in bacteria that thrive on dietary fiber, and with lower levels of inflammation-causing bacteria typically found in people consuming highly processed foods.

This data provided insights on how to potentially repair the damage done to our gut microbiomes.

The traditional diet in rural Papua New Guinea consists of unprocessed plant-based foods rich in fiber but low in sugar and calories, as I witnessed firsthand during a field trip to Papua New Guinea. With the goal of creating something accessible for everyone to improve their health, our team leveraged what we observed in Papua New Guinea and other non-industrialized societies to develop a new diet called the NiMe (non-industrialized microbiome restore) diet.

What distinguishes NiMe from other diets is its emphasis on vegetables (such as leafy greens) and legumes (such as beans) and fruits. It includes only a small serving of animal protein per day (salmon, chicken, or pork) and avoids highly processed foods.

Dairy, beef, and wheat were excluded from the human trial as they are not part of the traditional diet in rural Papua New Guinea. Another notable feature of the diet is its significant dietary fiber content. In our trial, we aimed for approximately 45g of fiber per day, surpassing the recommendations in dietary guidelines.

One of my Ph.D. students innovated in the kitchen by creating recipes that would appeal to individuals accustomed to typical Western dishes. These meals enabled us to develop a meal plan that could be tested in a rigorously controlled study involving healthy Canadian adults.

Impressive Outcomes

We observed remarkable results, including weight loss (despite participants maintaining their regular calorie intake), a 17% decrease in bad cholesterol, a 6% reduction in blood sugar levels, and a 14% decrease in a marker for inflammation and heart disease known as C-reactive protein. These benefits were directly correlated with improvements in the participants’ gut microbiome, specifically features of the microbiome damaged by industrialization.

On a Western diet low in dietary fiber, the gut microbiome degrades the mucus layer in the gut, leading to inflammation. The NiMe diet prevented this process, which was associated with reduced inflammation.

The diet also elevated beneficial bacterial metabolites (byproducts) in the gut, such as short-chain fatty acids, and in the blood, such as indole-3-propionic acid—a metabolite known to protect against type 2 diabetes and nerve damage.

Research indicates that a low dietary fiber intake causes gut microbes to increase protein fermentation, generating harmful byproducts that may contribute to colon cancer.

In fact, there is a concerning rise in colon cancer among younger individuals, potentially due to recent trends towards high-protein diets or supplements. The NiMe diet promoted carbohydrate fermentation at the expense of protein fermentation, reducing bacterial molecules in the participants’ blood associated with cancer.

Our research findings demonstrate that a dietary intervention aimed at restoring the gut microbiome can enhance health and reduce disease risk. The NiMe diet offers a practical roadmap to achieve this, providing recipes that were utilized in our study. It empowers anyone interested in healthy eating to enhance their diet to nourish both their human cells and their microbiome.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.