We often ignore it, but our intestinal microbiota, or intestinal flora, is not free of “bad” bacteria and other pathogens. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and others Klebsiella pneumoniae (responsible for pneumonia and urinary infections) can be present in our digestive tract, but at low concentrations.
At high concentrations, due to the consumption of contaminated food, or increased inflammation, these same bacteria can cause more or less serious illnesses, or even be life-threatening.
However, there are ways to prevent these pathogenic bacteria from colonizing our digestive organs too extensively: by consuming more fiber.
At least this is what emerges from a new scientific study, published on January 10, 2025 in the journal Nature Microbiology (Source 1). Researchers report using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the composition of the microbiota of more than 12,000 people, spread across 45 countries, using stool samples.
The team thus identified 135 species of intestinal microbes, mainly bacteria, which protect the microbiota from infections. Among the protective species is the group of bacteria FaecalibacteriumWho produce short-chain fatty acids by breaking down the fibers present in the foods we consume (fruits, vegetables, cereals). These are these compounds which would protect against infections linked to disease-causing enterobacteria. Thus, eating more fiber would favor the good bacteria which break it down, to the detriment of the bad bacteria.
“Our results suggest that what we eat is potentially very important in controlling the likelihood of infection by a range of bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, as it changes our intestinal environment to make it more hostile to invaders.”, said in a statement (Source 2) Dr Alexandre Almeida, researcher at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the study. “By eating fiber [présentes dans les] foods like vegetables, beans and whole grains, we can provide raw material for our intestinal bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids, compounds that can protect us against these pathogenic microbes”, he added.
The study reveals that taking probiotics, supposed to provide good bacteria taking the place of bacteria with pathogenic potential, would not be as effective as adopting a diet rich in fiber. It was previously thought that competition for resources would prevent disease-causing bacteria from colonizing the intestinal tract. The authors of the study believe that this competition phenomenon is not effective, and thatit is better to modify the intestinal environmentparticularly via food.
“With higher rates of antibiotic resistance, fewer treatment options are available. The best approach now is to prevent infections in the first placeand we can achieve this by reducing the opportunities for these pathogenic bacteria to grow in our intestine”, concludes Dr Alexandre Almeida.
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