2023-05-16 14:15:00
It accompanies us from birth, grows with us and is shaped by our lifestyle and eating habits. And the intestinal microbiota, which likes a menu based on pasta and a Mediterranean diet to stay healthy and slow down aging. This is why it should be treated well and listened to. This was underlined by the experts gathered today in Parma for the series of meetings ‘Let’s Talk About Food & Science’. A multidisciplinary team brought together by the Barilla Group, made up of Patrizia Brigidi, professor of Fermentation Biotechnology at the University of Bologna, Gian Luigi de’ Angelis, professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Parma, and Francesco Visioli, professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Padua.
“The gut microbiota is the control room of many functions and aspects of our body – explains de’ Angelis – It modulates the metabolism of the food we eat; synthesizes vitamins such as B12, vitamin K and folate; teaches the immune system to distinguish friend from foe; defends us from dangerous microorganisms and produces 70% of serotonin, essential for intestinal motility”. That same serotonin, defined as the ‘happiness hormone’, which reminds us that there is an axis between the brain and the intestine, where there is an extremely developed neuronal network. “The gut-brain axis is bidirectional – highlights de’ Angelis – The microbiota has the ability to release neurotransmitters that are essential for regulating the sleep-wake cycle and good mood, while anxiety and stress can alter the microbiota. That of depressed subjects is characterized by the loss of beneficial bacteria such as bifidus bacteria. Loss of beneficial strains is also associated with chronic inflammatory bowel disorders such as Crohn’s disease.”
The microbiota grows, becomes an adult and ages together with its host – recalls a note – and its state of health can accelerate or slow down the aging process. As we age, the abundance and variety of microbes decreases. It has been demonstrated that alterations in the intestinal microbial population and changes in intestinal permeability can directly contribute to the condition of chronic low-grade inflammation, or ‘inflammaging’, which characterizes aging and affects, among others, psychophysical well-being, metabolic abnormalities and infections.
“Reduction of intestinal motility, chewing and swallowing difficulties, inappetence: this metabolic-physiological decline can be slowed down – remarks Brigidi – Better, counterbalanced with a series of eating behaviors that affect the composition and functionality of the intestinal microbiota. As always, it is better to prevent , with dietary interventions that favor the growth and development of ‘good’ bacteria, such as producers of short-chain fatty acids, which, among other things, support the homeostasis of the immune system, increase intestinal impermeability, provide energy to the body, and regulate appetite and sleep”.
A wrong diet, stress, a sedentary life change and weaken the biodiversity in the intestine – it emerged from the meeting – Whether for the lack of beneficial or protective species, for the competition between species, or for the proliferation of potentially pathogenic strains that we have unknowingly favored, they can break the balance of the microbiota by impoverishing it. This is a condition that would unite 25% of the population (one Italian out of 4). And so some ‘neglected’ microorganisms, which cannot find nourishment in the food we ingest, can fall back on the intestinal mucus, making it more vulnerable; other species can overcome the epithelial cells and the vascular barrier and reach internal organs and adipose tissue, causing chronic inflammation, the mother of many pathologies and metabolic diseases, such as cardiovascular pathologies, obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Not only do the brain and intestines talk to each other, but they share a passion for good food. A diet that is “not very varied will reward one family of bacteria to the detriment of others – Visoli points out – And then the conditions are created to throw the microbiota into a tailspin and ignite inflammation. Certainly high-protein diets do not help the ‘good’ bacteria of the microbiota to thrive”. The expert reports that “a study by the Genome Institute of Singapore, conducted on overweight or obese adults subjected to 4 weeks of ketogenic diet, has shown a decrease in the microbiota of bifidobacteria which help the regularity of the intestine and its correct functioning. Conversely, science has demonstrated the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on the intestinal microbiota: a study published in the journal ‘Gut’, conducted on subjects with a habitually low consumption of fruit and vegetables and a sedentary lifestyle, confirmed that following the diet Mediterranean for 8 weeks improved the composition of the intestinal microbiota, reducing the inflammatory state”.
Our body “loves pasta – continues Visoli – also because it favors the growth of the ‘good population’ of the microbiota, especially if associated with other key foods of Mediterranean eating, such as vegetables and greens which, together with wholemeal or traditional pasta, contribute to introducing fibers into our intestines” Fibers should never be lacking in the intestinal microbiota menu. The soluble (pasta al dente) and insoluble (vegetables) ones – the experts point out – stimulate the production and expansion of good bacteria. And again, polyphenolic compounds of which they are rich berries, citrus fruits, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, olive oil and walnuts, which would contribute to the growth of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium; artichokes, asparagus, garlic, onion, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes and chicory, due to the inulin content; legumes such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas and broad beans, for the content of fructo-olisaccharides and galacto-olisaccharides; pine nuts, hazelnuts, spinach and oily fish for omega 3 fatty acids, all foods that can be a solution against chronic inflammation.
Speaking of pasta, with the arrival of summer, “if consumed cold – concludes Visoli – it can have an extra gear for the microbiota. The resistant starch of pasta with the change in temperature takes on a conformation such that it acts exactly like fiber, which bacteria use to make a short-chain fatty acid like butyrate, which controls intestinal permeability.”
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