Dietary Fiber News and Research

RSS

The microbes on your lettuce change with the seasons

Lettuce's microbial communities vary seasonally, potentially impacting gut bacteria and highlighting the role of fresh vegetables in microbiome diversity.

6 Nov 2026

Struggling with constipation? Two green kiwifruits a day may help

A narrative review of 33 publications found that consuming two fresh green kiwifruits daily for approximately four weeks can improve bowel movement frequency and gastrointestinal comfort in adults with functional constipation or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Clinical studies reported broadly similar improvements with kiwifruit, psyllium, and prunes, although more research is needed to establish long-term benefits and differences between kiwifruit varieties.

5 Nov 2026

Two healthy diets stood out in a study of more than 7,000 adults

In a cross-sectional analysis of 7,256 adults from the Maastricht Study, researchers found that greater adherence to the DASH and Dutch Healthy Diet patterns was associated with higher very-low-frequency (VLF) heart rate variability power, particularly among participants not taking beta-blockers. No significant associations were observed across time-domain HRV measures after full adjustment, and the findings do not establish that these diets improve cardiovascular function.

2 Nov 2026

The type of fiber you eat shapes how gut bacteria feed and work together

A 2021 review examined how the chemical structure and physical properties of dietary fiber influence which gut bacteria can break it down and how microbial species compete and cooperate during fermentation. The authors described how these interactions contribute to short-chain fatty acid production, while emphasizing the need for further research involving intact plant foods to understand their implications for human health.

1 Nov 2026

Semaglutide changes gut bacteria in rats beyond what eating less explains

Researchers compared semaglutide-treated male and female rats with pair-fed animals receiving the same amount and type of food to distinguish drug-associated microbiome changes from those linked to reduced eating. Semaglutide altered bacterial richness and community composition, with some changes absent from the pair-fed groups and uncertain consequences for health.

26 Oct 2026

Nearly three in four popular comfort foods have something in common, researchers find

A US study examining 300 distinct comfort foods identified chips, ice cream, pizza, chocolate, and cookies as the most frequently nominated choices among adults. Researchers found that nearly three-quarters of the foods met hyperpalatability criteria, while approximately 43% were entirely ultra-processed under a strict classification, with relatively small nutritional differences across demographic groups.

22 Oct 2026

A study of 802 teens raises questions about school breakfast and blood sugar

A study of 802 U.S. adolescents found that school breakfast participation at least once weekly was associated with a 30% higher prevalence of prediabetes-range glucose markers, while school lunch participation showed no significant association. Higher intakes of vitamins E and B6 and fruit consumption among adolescents with obesity were associated with lower prediabetes prevalence, but none of the reported associations remained statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons.

22 Oct 2026

Beef can fit into healthy diets, but what about its environmental cost?

A narrative review published in Animal Frontiers highlights beef's contribution to high-quality protein and bioavailable micronutrients, while controlled trials generally found no adverse effects on selected cardiometabolic risk markers, although long-term disease outcomes remain uncertain. The authors argue that sustainable food policies should consider nutritional needs, environmental impacts, agricultural productivity, and rural livelihoods when evaluating beef's place in healthy diets.

21 Oct 2026

Sugar-rich foods may worsen antibiotic-related gut disruption

Sugar consumption during antibiotic treatment is linked to greater gut microbial disruption in transplant patients, emphasizing the need for dietary awareness.

8 Oct 2026

From wild rice to tarwi, researchers are exploring the health potential of Indigenous foods

A conference paper reviewed North American and Andean Indigenous foods, including Three Sisters crops, wild rice, native berries, tarwi, quinoa, and amaranth, and described their nutrients and bioactive compounds. Evidence for health effects remains limited for many of these foods, and the authors call for research developed with Indigenous communities that also supports traditional knowledge and food sovereignty.

28 Sep 2026

Why one gut microbe is attracting attention in heart failure research

Researchers found that chronic systolic heart failure caused by nonischemic cardiomyopathy was associated with reduced gut microbial diversity, depletion of Bifidobacterium, and lower microbial short-chain fatty acid production potential. Higher Bifidobacterium abundance and higher circulating indole-3-propionic acid levels were associated with milder disease and clinical improvement, although the findings do not establish causality.

27 Sep 2026

Dietary changes can prevent Hirschsprung disease symptoms

A multi-institutional study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) discovered for the first time that dietary interventions might prevent inflammatory symptoms associated with Hirschsprung disease, a bowel motility disorder.

23 Sep 2026

Stalled gut microbiome development triples risk for type 1 diabetes in children

Type 1 diabetes affects more than 9 million people worldwide, including 1.8 million children and adolescents.

21 Sep 2026

Cockroaches have a reputation for surviving almost anything, but this diet proved deadly

A laboratory study tested how ultra-processed, unprocessed, and mixed diets affected survival in 127 lobster cockroaches, Nauphoeta cinerea. Cockroaches fed only ultra-processed foods had higher mortality than those given unprocessed or mixed diets, although the study could not determine whether processing, ingredients, nutrition, or differences in food intake caused the effect.

13 Sep 2026

What mothers eat in pregnancy may shape a child’s weight years later

A prospective study of 252 mother-child pairs found that higher combined maternal fruit and vegetable intake during pregnancy was associated with lower odds of overweight or obesity in children at age four. Total and natural fruit juice showed no association, whereas higher commercial fruit juice intake was associated with increased odds, though the authors emphasized that this finding was exploratory.

7 Sep 2026

What 107 professional MMA fighters actually ate before and after weigh-in

Professional UFC fighters followed highly structured dietary patterns around competition, sharply restricting carbohydrates, fiber, fluids, and sodium before weigh-in before rapidly increasing carbohydrate, fluid, and sodium intake afterward. Despite aggressive post-weigh-in refueling, carbohydrate intake fell again on fight day, suggesting that some fighters may not fully restore glycogen stores before competition.

3 Sep 2026

The obesity-microbiome story is more complicated than ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria

This review finds that obesity is linked to reciprocal interactions between diet, the gut microbiome, microbial metabolites, and host metabolic pathways that influence appetite, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and energy balance across the lifespan. It highlights diet as a particularly tractable way to influence this system, while emphasizing that microbiome changes associated with GLP-1 therapies remain difficult to separate from weight loss and that functional multi-omics approaches may help enable more personalized interventions.

3 Sep 2026

Flavorings, colors and sweeteners emerge as UPF markers linked to depression risk

A prospective UK Biobank study of 171,818 adults found that greater estimated exposure to foods containing flavorings, coloring agents, and sweeteners was dose-dependently associated with a higher risk of incident depression over 10.7 years. The findings suggest that specific markers, rather than ultra-processed foods uniformly, may help explain associations between UPF consumption and depression risk.

1 Sep 2026

Could the type of fiber children eat matter for their developing gut microbiome?

A recent study found that different dietary fibers can shape the composition and activity of the gut microbiome during early childhood, with xyloglucan, arabinoxylan, and pectin increasing short-chain fatty acid production in laboratory fermentation experiments. Some fibers also supported gut barrier measures and altered inflammatory responses, while observational data linked higher pectin intake with greater microbial diversity in young children.

31 Aug 2026

Breast milk fats may reflect more than the fats a mother eats

A cross-sectional study of 109 breastfeeding women in the Netherlands found that maternal intakes of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs and trans fats were associated with corresponding fatty acid proportions in human milk. The researchers also identified links involving dietary fiber, diet quality and several micronutrients, although whether these relationships reflect direct biological effects or broader dietary patterns remains uncertain.

26 Aug 2026