Posted on 07/30/2023 12:14:16 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A study shows that a diet containing suitable amounts of inulin can influence even the length and other macroscopic characteristics of the intestines.
This beneficial action is possible only in the presence of bacteria that digest the fiber, however. Positive alterations in immunity are among the healthy interactions.
"In mice that ingested a 10% inulin diet, the gut was larger than in mice that consumed only insoluble fiber [cellulose]. When we analyzed their intestinal tissue, we found more epithelial stem cell proliferation in the animals fed an inulin-rich diet. The epithelium is the layer that separates gut contents from other organs," said Renan Oliveira Corrêa.
The researchers detected 268 genes expressed differently by mice fed the inulin-rich diet and mice fed a normal diet. In the former group, expression of genes associated with the cell cycle and with DNA replication and repair was augmented. These cellular processes are extremely important because of the high rate of renewal of epithelial cells in the intestines.
On the other hand, genes associated with lipid and fatty acid metabolism were less expressed in the mice that consumed inulin, showing that inulin consumption lowers lipid levels in the bloodstream and reduces hepatic steatosis (fatty liver disease).
The inulin-rich diet also increased expression of genes associated with gut epithelial cell differentiation, a process essential to growth of the organ and substitution of dead cells. This led to an increase in the number of goblet cells, specialized epithelial cells that secrete mucins, which are significant components of the mucus that protects the human gut from harmful bacteria.
Gut microbiota was drastically modified in the inulin-fed mice.
The study showed that inulin consumption raised blood levels of interleukin-22 (IL-22), a cytokine produced by the immune system and important to intestinal health.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
They found pectin had similar benefits.
Soluble fibers and the biome are very interactive, and there can be some very odd interactions there in the digestive system.
Inulin tends to generate a kind of mucus that prevents intestinal leakage, and acts as a home for healthy bacteria.
The pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. diff), aka “Cholera’s little brother” often gives healthy people a debilitating dysentery that can last a month. It affects approximately 500,000 patients annually in the United States, of these around 30,000 will die.
The Japanese learned in the 1960s that C. diff can be blocked with a different, non-pathogenic form of Clostridium (C. butyricum), which can be taken in pill form when a person is at risk of getting C. diff, that is, by being hospitalized.
And I found out that C. butyricum’s favorite food is the soluble fiber “Guar Gum”. Which makes a good therapy great.
Guar Gum also has the added benefit of binding with bile to flush it out of the body. And bile tends to recycle a bunch of things you don’t really want, like several heavy metals.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.