Study using huge dataset links vegan, vegetarian diets with better healthStudy using huge dataset links vegan, vegetarian diets with better health

A new study found correlations between dietary patterns and gut microbiome makeup. The research stood out for the large number of subjects involved.

Hank Schultz, Senior Editor

January 14, 2025

4 Min Read
A new study has found that diet styles -- omnivore, vegan and vegetarian -- are associated with characteristic microbiome constituents.

At a Glance

  • New study correlates microbiome makeup and dietary patterns.
  • Data came from five cohorts in three countries.
  • Research tabulated results from more than 21,000 subjects.

A new study using an exceptionally large dataset has found correlations of vegan and vegetarian diets with a microbiome makeup linked with a lower risk of cardiometabolic and bowel disorders.

The new research was published in the journal Nature Microbiology and was the work of researchers associated with institutions in Italy and the UK.

The new research was exceptional in that it employed a huge dataset that included more than 21,000 subjects.  These participants were involved with five study cohorts, in the United Kingdom, United States and Italy.

Most data came from trials linked to commercial health app

Two cohorts in the U.K. and one in the U.S. were part of the ongoing ZOE PREDICT trial into nutrition and health. The trial is the brainchild of the ZOE company that markets an app and home test kits that together purport to shed light on how users respond to various foods.

PREDICT stands for Personalized Responses to Dietary Composition Trial.

The other two cohorts were publicly available data sets in Italy. The U.K/U.S. cohorts totaled more than 21,000 individuals, while the Italian data sets amounted to slightly more than 200. Altogether, the study’s authors analyzed data from 21,561 individuals.

The data consisted of results from food frequency questionnaires, as well as data derived from the user’s home test kits, which include information on users’ gut microbiomes.

Related:Ultraprocessed food intake boosts childhood obesity in at least 3 ways, study finds

To bolster that questionnaire data, the researchers also employed a tool called Metagenomic Estimation of Dietary Intake (MEDI), which uses food DNA in gut metagenomes to estimate and quantify food consumption.

The goal of the research was to understand the microbiome makeup of people who follow three different eating styles: omnivore, vegans and vegetarians. The researchers also want to see the prevalence of microbiome markers, defined as species-level genome bins (SGBs) associated with a set of cardiometabolic markers such as BMI, blood pressure and lipoproteins. Those associations have been correlated via the various PREDICT studies in something called the ZOE Microbiome Ranking 2024.[LJ1] 

The researchers also applied data analysis techniques common to meta-analyses, including an AI platform to sort through the reams of data available.

The researchers revealed they found “strong microbiome configurations for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores with several characteristic microbes that confirm and expand upon several previous findings.”

In the findings from omnivores, the researchers said they could tell whether an individual was primarily a red or white meat consumer based on the presence of certain microbes, including A. putredinisB. wadsworthia and R. torques. Those microbes have been linked with greater inflammation and bowel disease, the researchers said. They are also linked to poorer cardiometabolic health outcomes.

Related:Study shows synergistic boost for probiotic-prebiotic combo

In contrast, the microbiomes of vegans had signatures of microbes associated with fiber fermentation. These microbes tended to be strong producers of beneficial short chain fatty acids linked to better overall gut health.

Poorer quality of omnivores’ microbiomes more about paucity of plant foods instead of presence of meat

The researchers noted that the less advantageous makeup of the meat eaters’ guts had more to do with their tendency to consume fewer high fiber fruits and vegetables, rather than the presence of meat in their diets per se.

“Optimizing the quality of omnivore diets by increasing dietary plant diversity could lead to better gut health,” they noted.

“In summary, our work reinforces how humans can shape their own gut microbiomes, and by extension their health, directly through simple dietary choices as well as more indirectly through agricultural and food production practices,” the researchers wrote. “These diet pattern signatures will be important to inform experiments on specific interactions between single microbes (or genes) and food components and are of potential use in a number of areas including improving (clinical) intervention studies of different diet patterns and epidemiology studies where gut samples, but not detailed diet data, are available.”

Related:Study: Stronger athletes burn fat better

Consultant: Results are valuable addition to existing knowledge

Consultant Mark Miller, Ph.D., principal in the firm Kaiviti Consulting, said the results will put some significant meat on the bones of the developing understanding of the interplay between diet and microbiome makeup and what that says about health.

“The results are affirmation of data and concepts previously raised, in that diet influences the makeup of the gut microbiome,” Miller said. “Meat eating populations tend to have higher levels of microbes that assist in digesting proteins from meat, and the profile of vegans lack microbes that help generate Vitamin B12. Similarly, the presence of dairy products drives a greater abundance of dairy-related microbes e.g. the lactobacilli and Streptococcus thermophilus.

But he cautioned against trying to make soundbite-like, definitive statements about the results — something that has been done all too frequently in the history of microbiome research.

“These impacts are not binary. There is considerable overlap between diets as it relates to their impact on microbial diversity,” he added. “I would urge caution as to over-interpretation, which is likely to happen.”

The researchers ended their conclusion with the standard call for additional research. Miller said perhaps some of that additional research could shed light on how a diet rich in whole foods versus a diet replete with highly processed foods might shift the microbiome makeup.

About the Author

Hank Schultz

Senior Editor, Informa

Hank Schultz has been the senior editor of SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly Natural Products Insider) since early 2023. He can be reached at [email protected]

Prior to joining the Informa team, he was an editor at NutraIngredients-USA, a William Reed Business Media publication.

His approach to industry journalism was formed via a long career in the daily newspaper field. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and German, Hank was an editor at the Tempe Daily News in Arizona. He followed that with a long stint working at the Rocky Mountain News, a now defunct daily newspaper in Denver, where he rose to be one of the city editors. The newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes during his time there.

The changing landscape of the newspaper industry led him to explore other career paths. He began his career in the natural products industry more than a decade ago at New Hope Natural Media, which was then part of Penton and now is an Informa brand. Hank formed friendships and partnerships within the industry that still inform his work to this day, which helps him to bring an insider’s perspective, tempered with an objective journalist’s sensibility, to his in-depth reporting.

Harkening back to his newspaper days, Hank considers the readers to be the primary stakeholders whose needs must be met. Report the news quickly, comprehensively and above all, fairly, and readership and sponsorships will follow.

In 2015, Hank was recognized by the American Herbal Products Association with a Special Award for Journalistic Excellence.

When he’s not reporting on the supplement industry, Hank enjoys many outside pursuits. Those include long distance bicycle touring, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking and fishing. Less strenuous pastimes include travel, reading (novels and nonfiction), studying German, noodling on a harmonica, sketching and a daily dose of word puzzles in The New York Times.

Last but far from least, Hank is a lifelong fan and part owner of the Green Bay Packers.

Subscribe for the latest consumer trends, trade news, nutrition science and regulatory updates in the supplement industry!
Join 37,000+ members. Yes, it's completely free.

You May Also Like