A new diet designed by scientists combines age-old wisdom with modern science to help lose weight without counting calories. Aiming to boost overall health and improve gut microbiome diversity, the diet can help shed pounds, reducing cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Known as NiMe Diet, the eating pattern takes a cue from traditional eating habits of non-industrialized societies which can lower risk of various chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
The study published in the scientific journal Cell on January 23, mentions this diet which showed significant health benefits in a human trial. After three weeks of starting this diet, participants in the study found improvement in their metabolism and immune function. They experienced weight loss, decreased bad cholesterol by 17%, reduced blood sugar by 6%, and reduced C-reactive Protein (a marker of inflammation and heart disease) by 14%.
Change in gut microbiome
The diet included foods that helped transform the gut microbiome which is home to trillions of bacteria that play an important role in our health including digestion, immunity and metabolism.
The research was conducted by an international team of scientists led by Professor Jens Walter, a leading scientist at University College Cork where he holds a Research Ireland Professorship. The human trial was performed at the University of Alberta in Canada, Prof. Walter’s previous institution.
“Industrialization has drastically impacted our gut microbiome, likely increasing the risk of chronic diseases,” explained Prof. Walter, who is also a Principal Investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland, a world-renowned Research Ireland center.
“To counter this, we developed a diet that mimics traditional, non-industrialized dietary habits and is compatible with our understanding on diet-microbiome interactions. In a strictly controlled human trial, participants followed this diet and consumed L. reuteri, a beneficial bacterium prevalent in the gut of Papua New Guineans but rarely found in the industrialized microbiomes.”
NiMe Diet: Which foods are included in it
NiMeTM (Non-industrialized Microbiome Restore) diet boosted the short-term persistence of L. reuteri in the gut.
It reduced pro-inflammatory bacteria and bacterial genes that degrade the mucus layer in the gut. These changes led to improvements in cardiometabolic markers of chronic disease risk.
On this diet, the participants consumed same amount of calories and yet registered remarkable health benefits.
The NiMe diet included
Plant based foods and a bit of animal protein: This included vegetables, legumes, and other whole-plant foods along with a small serving of animal protein per day.
Dairy, beef, or wheat were excluded from the diet as they were not part of traditional foods consumed by rural Papua New Guineans.
Fibre: In this diet, the fibre content was 22 grams per 1,000 calories, which even exceeds current dietary recommendations.
“This study shows that we can target the gut microbiome through specific diets to improve health and reduce disease risk. These findings could shape future dietary guidelines and inspire the development of new food products and ingredients, as well as therapeutics, which target the microbiome,” said Prof. Paul Ross, Director of APC Microbiome Ireland.
“The recipes from the NiMe Diet will be posted to our Instagram (@nimediet) and Facebook pages, and they will also be included in an online cookbook soon. It is important to us to make these recipes freely available so that everyone can enjoy them and improve their health by feeding their gut microbiome,” said Dr. Anissa Armet from the University of Alberta, a registered dietitian who designed the NiMe diet and one of the lead authors of the publication.
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