Mixed
Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet increases gut microbiota diversity and shifts composition toward beneficial taxa (e.g., Prevotella, Bifidobacteria) and metabolites (SCFAs), while reducing pro-inflammatory markers and pathogenic bacteria associated with Western diets.
To improve your gut health, adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern. This means prioritizing fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and extra virgin olive oil as your main fat source. Include fish and limit red meat. This dietary pattern is associated with a more diverse and beneficial gut microbiome, which produces protective metabolites like short-chain fatty acids and reduces inflammation compared to a standard Western diet.
Evidences suggest that MD is able to modulate the gut microbiota, increasing its diversity. In fact, a Mediterranean-type dietary pattern is associated with specific gut microbiota characteristics. The available evidence, suggests that gut microbiota of subjects that follow a MD is significantly different from subjects that follow a Western diet model.
Why this rating
The paper is a review of observational and some interventional studies; it notes a lack of controlled intervention studies for causality.
Source
Influence of Mediterranean Diet on Human Gut Microbiota
Giuseppe Merra et al. · Nutrients · 2020
DOI 10.3390/nu13010007
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