If you look at the classics, the most frequently cited articles in the scientific nutrition

literature, the original glycemic index paper comes out in number 10, cited more than a thousand

times, and learning about fruit

vegetables and cancer prevention was a hallmark, but hitting the top five cited more than 2,000

times dietary modulation of the human microbiome introducing the concept of prebiotics.

Prebiotics are the food components that feed and nourish the good bacteria in our gut,

like fiber and resistant starch.

In general, eating high-fiber plant foods is a good foundation for a prebiotic-rich diet.

Once upon the time, fiber was just thought of as just an undigested component of foods, known only for

bulking up stools and keeping our bowels regular.

Then we discovered an array of receptors in the body in which fiber breakdown products

fit in like a lock and key.

We feed our good bacteria with fiber and they feed us right back, munching the fiber

and creating short-chain

fatty acids that get absorbed into our bloodstream and fit into these receptors that are expressed

on immune cells and generally mediate a direct anti-inflammatory effect.

So the reason for lower systemic inflammation in plant-based eaters may not just be due to the abundance

of anti-inflammatory molecules in plant foods due to the abundance of anti-inflammatory molecules

in plant foods or the avoidance of pro-inflammatory molecules in animal foods,

but from the production of anti-inflammatory molecules from scratch by our good gut bugs when we feed them fiber.

Just to give you an idea how protective fiber-rich foods can be, those randomized to get

advice to eat fiber-rich plant foods during radiation therapy for cancer didn't just experience

...