A new study from the UOFA (University of Alberta) stated that short-term increases in sugar intake can augment the jeopardy of inflammatory bowel disease and have a major impact on health. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports and researchers discovered that mice had an augmented susceptibility to chemically-stimulated colitis and more serious symptoms following 2 Days of a high-sugar diet than those consuming a balanced diet. Karen Madsen—Author of the study and who specialized in diet and its impacts on inflammatory bowel disease—stated the outcomes echoed what several patients having colitis have been reporting for a long time: minute changes in their diet can make the symptoms flare-up.
Madsen said, “Earlier it has been demonstrated that the kind of diet that you are on can transform your vulnerability to disease. We wanted to understand how long it takes to a change in diet changes and its impacts on health. Regarding sugar and colitis, it just takes 2 Days, which was really shocking to us. We did not think it will happen so quickly.” We analyzed what can drive such a major change in such a short duration and found that it is all about gut bacteria and the effect food has on them. Seemingly, fiber-rich foods act as energy for the “essential” bacteria that live in the gut and form short-chain fatty acids, which are important for a proficient immune response.
On a similar note, recently, a study showed that plant-based foods and the Mediterranean diet are linked with the healthy gut microbiome. Research submitted at UEG Week 2019 showed that particular foods can offer protection for the gut, by aiding the bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties to flourish. Scientists from the UMCG (University Medical Center Groningen), the Netherlands revealed that certain foods counting bread, legumes, fish, nuts, and wine are connected with high levels of useful gut bacteria that helps in the biosynthesis of vital nutrients and the formation of SCFAs (short-chain fatty acids), which is the major source of energy for cells covering the colon.
