Abstract
ABSTRACTBackgroundDiet has a major influence on the human gut microbiota, which has been linked to health and disease. However, epidemiological studies on associations of a healthy diet with the microbiota utilizing a whole-diet approach are still scant.ObjectivesTo assess associations between healthy food choices and human gut microbiota composition, and to determine the strength of association with functional potential.MethodsThis population-based study sample consisted of 4930 participants (ages 25–74; 53% women) in the FINRISK 2002 study. Intakes of recommended foods were assessed using a food propensity questionnaire, and responses were transformed into healthy food choices (HFC) scores. Microbial diversity (alpha diversity) and compositional differences (beta diversity) and their associations with the HFC score and its components were assessed using linear regression. Multiple permutational multivariate ANOVAs were run from whole-metagenome shallow shotgun–sequenced samples. Associations between specific taxa and HFC were analyzed using linear regression. Functional associations were derived from Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes orthologies with linear regression models.ResultsBoth microbial alpha diversity (β/SD, 0.044; SE, 6.18 × 10−5; P = 2.21 × 10−3) and beta diversity (R2, 0.12; P ≤ 1.00 × 10−3) were associated with the HFC score. For alpha diversity, the strongest associations were observed for fiber-rich breads, poultry, fruits, and low-fat cheeses (all positive). For beta diversity, the most prominent associations were observed for vegetables, followed by berries and fruits. Genera with fiber-degrading and SCFA-producing capacities were positively associated with the HFC score. The HFC score was associated positively with functions such as SCFA metabolism and synthesis, and inversely with functions such as fatty acid biosynthesis and the sulfur relay system.ConclusionsOur results from a large, population-based survey confirm and extend findings of other, smaller-scale studies that plant- and fiber-rich dietary choices are associated with a more diverse and compositionally distinct microbiota, and with a greater potential to produce SCFAs.
Highlights
What we eat is among the most influential environmental factors that determine long-term health [1, 2]
Principal coordinate analysis (PCA), in conjunction with analysis of similarities (ANOSIM), was used to assess clustering of samples; PERMANOVA was used to assess the amount of variance each variable can explain in the distances between the samples; and distance-based redundancy analysis (dbRDA) was used to discover the direction that each of those variables take for that variance
Women tended to have a higher healthy food choices (HFC) score compared to men (217.8 ± 90.6/mo compared with 176.9 ± 80.4/mo, respectively)
Summary
What we eat is among the most influential environmental factors that determine long-term health [1, 2]. Gastrointestinal diseases [7], obesity [8], cardiovascular diseases [9], rheumatoid arthritis [10], and neurological disorders [11] have all been associated with the gut microbiota Many of these disorders are associated with diet. Objectives: To assess associations between healthy food choices and human gut microbiota composition, and to determine the strength of association with functional potential. Microbial diversity (alpha diversity) and compositional differences (beta diversity) and their associations with the HFC score and its components were assessed using linear regression. Conclusions: Our results from a large, population-based survey confirm and extend findings of other, smaller-scale studies that plantand fiber-rich dietary choices are associated with a more diverse and compositionally distinct microbiota, and with a greater potential to produce SCFAs. Am J Clin Nutr 2021;114:605–616
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