Effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting on gut microbiome: is the diet key?
A significant amount of research has been dedicated to exploring how various diets influence the composition of the gut microbiota, yet the specific role of patterns such as intermittent fasting remains somewhat ambiguous. This particular study sought to examine the changes in gut microbiota resulting from practicing intermittent fasting throughout Ramadan. It included 12 healthy adults who fasted for 17 hours daily over the 29 days of Ramadan. Participants recorded their food consumption for three days at both the start and finish of Ramadan. The study utilized high-quality sequence data, referencing custom 16S rRNA gene regions to identify bacteria within the human gut. By generating consensus sequences and applying a 95% sequence identity cut-off for genus-level identification, the research assessed how dietary intake correlated with changes in bacterial genus abundance within participants. Initial findings indicated a pre-fasting dominance of Firmicutes in the participants’ gut microbiota, which notably decreased post-fasting, whereas Proteobacteria levels increased significantly by the fasting’s conclusion. The study identified a significant reduction in seven bacterial genera including Blautia and Coprococcus, among others, with an increase in Escherichia and Shigella. Dietary analysis revealed negative correlations between the abundance of certain bacterial genera and the consumption of proteins, vegetables, and nuts. These findings highlight the nuanced impact that both fasting and dietary choices during Ramadan have on the gut microbiota, underscoring the complexity of diet-gut microbiome interactions.
Year: 2023
