Eating healthy alone is sometimes not enough.

GENEVA (EFE).— A diet based on fruits, vegetables, and fiber only has a positive impact on health if followed regularly, confirmed a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

Researchers have discovered that a diet in which the nutritional value of foods varies greatly, alternating between healthy foods and fast food, sugary foods, or foods high in salt, can disrupt the balance of the gut microbiota (microorganisms that populate the intestine).

"Irregular consumption of healthy foods negates many of their benefits for the gut microbiota," said Marcel Salathé, head of EPFL's digital epidemiological laboratory.

In the scientific article, the academics acknowledged that there is a sense in society of the importance of eating well regularly, as demonstrated by campaigns encouraging people to eat five fruits and vegetables a day, but until now, "it has been just that, a feeling."

The research used artificial intelligence to record the eating habits of 1,000 participants in detail by analyzing food photos and product barcodes.

This large-scale data collection has allowed them to determine that the regularity with which healthy foods are eaten is as important as, or even more so than, the quantity.

“This is an incentive for future studies to analyze not only what people eat, but also the patterns of what they eat,” Salathé noted.

The researchers also discovered that a person's diet can be predicted with 85% accuracy by analyzing their microbiota through feces, and that this prediction also works in reverse to determine the composition of gut microorganisms.

Study Council

A diet with variations in the nutritional value of foods is not recommended.

Collaborators

The study, published in Nature Communications, was conducted by the Digital Epidemiology Laboratory of the Polytechnic of Lausanne and the University of California, San Diego.