Your gut microbiome responds to what you eat.
A Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil and fish.
These foods provide nutrients that help shape the bacteria living in your gut.
But can changing your diet really change your microbiome?
A European study followed more than 600 people aged 65–79 for one year. Some followed a Mediterranean diet. Others continued their usual diet.
After 12 months, the gut microbiome had changed in people following the Mediterranean diet.
Some bacteria linked to the diet can produce short-chain fatty acids. These substances are made when gut bacteria break down fibre. They may support the gut and other parts of the body.
The study also looked at microbiome diversity.
The Mediterranean diet did not increase overall diversity. But people who followed it more closely lost less diversity during the year.
The microbiome changes were also linked to less frailty, better physical and cognitive function, and lower inflammation.
This does not mean that the microbiome caused these health differences. A Mediterranean diet can affect health in many ways.
People also respond differently to the same diet. We each start with a different microbiome. Our health, medications, lifestyle and usual diet also matter.
The important point is simple.
Your gut microbiome can still respond to changes in your diet as you get older.
