Your gut microbiome changes throughout life.
Age plays a role. But diet, medications, lifestyle and health also shape the bacteria living in your gut.
So can you still change your microbiome through diet as you get older?
Yes. Your gut microbiome remains responsive to diet later in life.
In a European study, more than 600 adults aged 65–79 were followed for one year. People who followed a Mediterranean diet developed changes in specific gut bacteria.
These changes were linked to less frailty, better physical and cognitive function, and lower inflammation.
Other studies also show that diet can change the gut microbiome. But the response is different for each person.
Your starting microbiome matters. So do your usual diet, medications, lifestyle and health.
There is therefore no single diet that will produce the same microbiome in everyone.
What you eat still matters.
Foods rich in fibre, including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes and nuts, provide nutrients used by gut bacteria.
Eating a wide variety of plant foods also exposes your microbiome to different types of fibre and other nutrients.
For healthy ageing, the message is simple.
Your gut microbiome remains changeable as you get older. Diet is one of the factors you can influence.
