Mediterranean Diet to Prevent the Development of Colon Diseases: A Meta-Analysis of Gut Microbiota Studies.

Oscar Illescas,Miriam Rodríguez-Sosa,Manuela Gariboldi

doi:10.3390/nu13072234

Abstract

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is a common feature in colorectal cancer (CRC) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Adoption of the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been proposed as a therapeutic approach for the prevention of multiple diseases, and one of its mechanisms of action is the modulation of the microbiota. We aimed to determine whether MD can be used as a preventive measure against cancer and inflammation-related diseases of the gut, based on its capacity to modulate the local microbiota. A joint meta-analysis of publicly available 16S data derived from subjects following MD or other diets and from patients with CRC, IBD, or other gut-related diseases was conducted. We observed that the microbiota associated with MD was enriched in bacteria that promote an anti-inflammatory environment but low in taxa with pro-inflammatory properties capable of altering intestinal barrier functions. We found an opposite trend in patients with intestinal diseases, including cancer. Some of these differences were maintained even when MD was compared to healthy controls without a defined diet. Our findings highlight the unique effects of MD on the gut microbiota and suggest that integrating MD principles into a person’s lifestyle may serve as a preventive method against cancer and other gut-related diseases.

Highlights

We conducted a meta-analysis of diets and intestinal diseases related to inflammation and cancer that highlights unique characteristics of the bacterial population associated with Mediterranean diet (MD)
The microbiota of subjects following MD was enriched with beneficial bacteria that promote an anti-inflammatory environment, which were instead reduced in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), colon adenoma (CA), and colorectal cancer (CRC) groups
Taxa with pro-inflammatory properties that can alter the gut barrier functions were reduced in MD and increased in IBD, CA, and CRC groups

Summary

Introduction

The increased incidence and mortality of many cancers observed in the last few decades has been in part attributed to the modern and heavily industrialized lifestyle [1,2], characterized by environmental pollution, stress, sedentarism, and a diet dominated by pre-processed foods rich in fat, salt, meat, refined flour and sugar, and little to no fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts, such as the so-called Western-type or Westernized diet (WD) [3,4,5]. One of the most widely used is the Mediterranean diet (MD) This term encompasses a series of dietary patterns used in countries of the Mediterranean coast, with shared common premises including high consumption of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, legumes and olive oil, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy and wine, and low intake of meat and sweets [9]. The benefits of MD have recently been suggested on several pathologies, including cancer [10,11,12,13]

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