The association between the maternal diet and the maternal and infant gut microbiome: a systematic review
The gut microbiome has received adequate attention in the past decade. Be it in the field of mental health, obesity or pathophysiology of disease; gut microbiome’s role has been investigated. However, the consequences of the mother’s eating habit during pregnancy on her gut microbiome and that of the infant’s in not fully explored. Siofra E. Maher and colleagues (2020) has published a review study entitled, “The Association Between The Maternal Diet and The Maternal and Infant Gut Microbiome: A Systematic Review” in “The British Journal of Nutrition”. Below is a summary of the study:
Objective:
To summarize available evidence relating to the association between maternal diet in pregnancy and the maternal and infant gut microbiome.
Method:
To be eligible for the review, studies had to meet certain inclusion criteria. Criteria were: the presence of dietary analysis and assessment of the composition of the gut microbiota. For assessment, culture-independent sequencing techniques were used. The authors found seven studies that met the criteria.
Findings:
The review cites that diet content, measured by factors including the amount of fibre, fat, fat-soluble vitamins, fruits and vegetables, and fish and meat consumed affected the diversity and profiles of the microbiome. Whereas, the mode of delivery made alterations in the composition and metabolism of intestinal microbes.
This study reiterates that fiber and fat are essential modulators of the human intestinal microbiome. The amounts of undigested carbohydrate that enters the large intestine daily is greater than the amount of protein and fat that enters the colon. In a high-fat diet (>35% of total energy intake), the amount of fat entering the colon increases; resulting in a shift in the gut microbiota, which is causes a reduction in carbohydrate degrading microbes. Thus, a high-fat diet has a harmful effect on the microbiota of small intestine. On the other hand, a high-fibre diet (>25g/d) causes the growth of SCFA producing bacteria, which is known to have a beneficial effect on metabolic health.
Further, no beneficial result of probiotic supplementation was seen within clinical outcomes such as preterm births, gestational diabetes, fasting glucose level, and birth weight.
Limitations:
The authors acknowledge that their review article needs to be supported by more data.
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