Focus on the microbiota in our food

The subject of microbiota is often discussed, particularly because of its possible involvement in a wide variety of pathologies. But did you know that the microbiota of the foods we eat can influence our own?

The intestinal microbiota contains around 𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚, which represents 1kg per individual. It is involved in essential functions such as 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, and also has 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. All the foods we eat have their own microbiota, bringing new bacteria into our digestive system with each meal. A recent study published in 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑙 looked at 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 to which the microbiota of foods has an impact on our own.

After sequencing the genomes of 2,500 food samples, the researchers identified more than 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 of bacteria. The microbiota was more or less varied depending on the type of food and whether or not it was fermented. The scientists were even able to show that it is possible to determine a type of cheese 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐚! As far as the contribution of food to our microbiota is concerned, 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝟑% comes directly from food in adults and 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝟓𝟔% 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬, whose microbiota is still sparsely populated.

Bearing in mind that the diversity and health of the intestinal microbiota are an 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, this study underlines the importance of choosing the right foods to eat!