WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Nutritional scientists are reporting that adding a daily ounce of peanuts or about a teaspoon of herbs and spices to your diet may affect the composition of gut bacteria.
In two recent studies from Penn State , researchers indicated that those people who have a lot of different microbes have better health, and a better diet, than those who don’t have much bacterial diversity.
The human gut microbiome is a collection of trillions of microorganisms that live inside the intestinal tract. The bacteria there can affect nearly all systems of the body, including metabolism and the building and maintaining of the immune system.
In the peanut study,the nutritional scientists compared the effects of snacking on 28 grams (approx. 1 ounce) of peanuts per day, versus a higher carbohydrate snack -- crackers and cheese. At the end of six weeks, participants who ate the peanut snack showed an increased abundance of Ruminococcaceae, a group of bacteria linked to healthy liver metabolism and immune function.
As for the herbs and spices study, the team analyzed the impact of adding blends of herbs and spices -- such as cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric, rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme -- to the controlled diets of participants at risk for cardiovascular disease.
After four weeks, there was an increase in gut bacteria diversity, including an increase in Ruminococcaceae, most notably with the medium and high doses of herbs and spices.
In both studies , the effects of small changes to the average American diet and found improvements to the gut microbiome.