Abstract
The gut microbiota is an important contributor to human health. Vegetable/fruit juices provide polyphenols, oligosaccharides, fiber and nitrate (beet juice), which may induce a prebiotic-like effect. Juice-based diets are becoming popular. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence of their health benefits. It was our hypothesis that changes in the intestinal microbiota induced by a juice-based diet play an important role in their health benefits. Twenty healthy adults consumed only vegetable/fruit juices for 3 days followed by 14 days of customary diet. On day 4 we observed a significant decrease in weight and body mass index (p = 2.0E−05), which was maintained until day 17 (p = 3.0E−04). On day 4 the proportion of the phylum Firmicutes and Proteobacteria in stool was significantly decreased and Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria was increased compared to baseline and was partially reversed on day 17. On day 4 plasma and urine nitric oxide was increased by 244 ± 89% and 450 ± 360%, respectively, and urinary lipid peroxidation marker malondialdehyde was decreased by 32 ± 21% compared to baseline. General well-being score was increased at the end of the study. In summary a 3-day juice-based diet altered the intestinal microbiota associated with weight loss, increase in the vasodilator NO, and decrease in lipid oxidation.
Highlights
Vegetable/fruit juice-based diets have been very popular recently
Recent studies show that dietary interventions with polyphenol rich extracts and foods, including dealcoholized red wine polyphenols, cocoa-derived flavanols, quercetin and grape anthocyanins, modulate the human gut microbiota by decreasing the abundance of Firmicutes and increasing Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and Verrucomicrobia[11,12,13], which is a key difference in the gut microbiota found in obese and lean individuals[14, 15]
We investigated whether the consumption of fruit and vegetable juices (6 bottles daily of mixtures of greens, roots, citrus, lemon, cayenne and vanilla almond) as part of a 3-day juice only program alters the intestinal microbiota in twenty healthy participants
Summary
Vegetable/fruit juice-based diets have been very popular recently. well designed controlled research studies with clinical outcome measures providing scientific evidence of potential health benefits of juice only diets are limited[1]. Fruit and vegetables are rich sources of several biologically active components that contribute to general health and decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease[2]. They are the most ubiquitous source of phenolic compounds[3]. Recent studies show that dietary interventions with polyphenol rich extracts and foods, including dealcoholized red wine polyphenols, cocoa-derived flavanols, quercetin and grape anthocyanins, modulate the human gut microbiota by decreasing the abundance of Firmicutes and increasing Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and Verrucomicrobia[11,12,13], which is a key difference in the gut microbiota found in obese and lean individuals[14, 15]. Secondary outcomes of the study were to determine the effect of the 3-day juice based diet on change in weight and body composition and biomarkers of oxidation (urine malondialdehyde) and vasodilation (plasma and urine nitric oxide)
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